


How do feelings even work?

by Jojoposer



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Angst, Firsts, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Minor Violence, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Multiple, Rating May Change, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-20
Updated: 2016-08-02
Packaged: 2018-03-25 00:41:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 33,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3790210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jojoposer/pseuds/Jojoposer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Now, Kageyama wasn’t an animal hater. He was pretty indifferent when it came down to it. He would never intentionally hurt one but… he might actually have to fight this cat. He was going to fucking fight a cat to get his dick patterned boxers back. [inactive]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Cats Are Great

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hinata would name a cat mittens i'll fight u on this. also dick boxers.

“Come… _come here_ …” Kageyama panted, bent over with his hands gripping his knees while he tried to catch his breath, “you fucking… cat… get over here... He resumed his chase, running after and around the cat that was smugly holding his underwear in it’s small mouth. _Yes_ , it was smug. Kageyama saw the fucking smile in its eyes and it was smugness if he ever saw it.

Kageyama had come home to his apartment after a tiresome day to find a cat sneaking out of his window. That in itself would've been bothersome, but when he saw the cat was holding a pair of his boxers between it's teeth, things went to shit.

First thoughts had been, _oh fuck me, I left my window open again_. Second thoughts were, _oH FUCK_ \- when he realized what pair the cat had made off with. Either way he would've been upset, but his fury (and embarrassment) spiked when he saw which ones the cat had picked. Out of all the boxers he had, and he had quite a few, that animal had to go and take the pair that had a bunch of poorly drawn dicks plastered on them.

That _stupid_ pair had been given to him as a tasteless joke back in high school when he told one of his friends, if he could even be called that (being shitty to each other was apparently their thing), that he was interested in guys. Not that he was even into anyone, he just knew guys were an option. 

They'd been given to him unceremoniously, in a plastic bag from the store they'd been bought and he had to be held back by his other friend from strangling him on the spot. He meant to throw them away immediately, wanting nothing more than for Tsukiyama to have wasted his goddamn money, but somehow it ended up turning into a bet to see how long he'd be able to keep them. Yamaguchi had been the voice of moderate reason, saying he really didn't have to but to do whatever he wanted. Kageyama decided to take the bet and shoved them into the back of his drawer. 

It'd been three years so far and though it was a different place, they were still crumpled in the back of his dresser. Or at least he thought so.

“You… fucking _cat_ …” he was wheezing now and no closer to getting the boxers back from the cat now sitting up on his neighbors window sill.

Kageyama still had his bag strapped around his body so he slid it off and threw it to the side, not caring about damaging the new text books he had in it at this point. He figured the less he had hindering him the better his chances were at catching this cat.

Okay, to get it straight, Kageyama wasn't an animal hater. He was pretty indifferent when it came down to it. He would never _intentionally_ hurt one... but he might actually have to fight this cat. He was going to fucking fight a cat to get his dick patterned boxers back.

Kageyama shut his eyes and tried to calm himself, mulling over his options. Was he really about to fight a cat? Did he even _need_ to get those boxers back...? He sighed. _Yes_ , he did. He wasn't going to subject a stranger or even a kid to seeing those damned things.

Having decided, he groaned at the struggle ahead of him. He couldn't believe he was about to _full on_ fight a cat. 

Just before he opened his eyes to resume his literal cat fight, he heard someone yell, “Oi! Mittens!” 

Standing before him was another guy, hair wild and very, very orange, clad in a white t-shirt, worn tennis shoes, and sweat pants rolled up to his calves.

“What trouble are you making this time?” The guy spoke again, his voice cheery as he started to walk closer. “Sorry, did you need somethin…” His voice trailed off when his eyes landed on the boxers the cat was holding in its mouth.

Kageyama braced himself for any form of disgusted remark or possible yelling, fully prepared to defend himself, but all he heard was a loud giggle fit erupting from the short stranger once realization hit. Somehow, that pissed him off more than the former would've.

“Don’t laugh!” he choked out, maybe a little louder and embarrassed than he wanted it to sound but at least he was talking now instead of staring. Had he been staring?

His words had no affect on the stranger as he continued with his chuckling, “Sorry, sorry.” he covered his mouth and stifled the still going laughs, “Are those- are those yours?”

Kageyama nodded, lips in a tight line.

“Why do they have dic-”

“No need to ask! Just help me get them back!” he barked, really, honestly, trying to be polite to this stranger but he couldn't get a handle on his rising irritation.

Despite seeing that, the stranger just couldn’t help himself. It’s not every day you see a guy chasing a cat trying to get his dick boxers back. “Do your boxers get stolen often?” he asks, trying to sound serious and failing.

“ _No!_ Your fucking cat went into my apartment and grabbed them, dumbass!” he yelled, beyond niceties now, and forgetting he hadn't confirmed whether or not that even was the stranger’s cat.

“Whoa, whoa.” he held his hands up, still giggling, “Don’t have to get your _boxers_ in a twist.”

That was it. Kageyama surged forward, switching from having to fight the cat to having to fight this stranger, and placed a firm hand on top of the guy’s head, squeezing with all of the force he could muster. This move wouldn’t have been very effective on anyone his height or taller than him so he mentally thanked the boxer revenge gods that this stranger was short.

“OW OW OW!” he yelled in protest and wrapped his hands around Kageyama’s wrist. He tried prying it off but was only met with his head being held tighter, “OKAY, DAMMIT, OKAY!”

Kageyama released him and the stranger moved toward the cat, easily taking the boxers from it's mouth. He had to stop himself from gaping at how fucking easy he made it look. Kageyama was sure he would've had to spend at least an hour chasing it before he got them back.

Immediately the stranger stepped back a few paces, as to avoid any more head grabbing, and crossed his arms, tucking the boxers away. For a few moments he thought about how to proceed, but went with what came naturally, “Name?” he asked.

“What?”

“What’s your name?” he asked again.

“Why?” Kageyama didn't hide the defensiveness in his tone.

“Whaddya mean _"why"_ ?” He imitated Kageyama's voice and laughed, “It’s normal to ask for names.”

Kageyama’s irritation had stared to settle now that the cat no longer had his boxers, instead he only felt a little miffed. 

“Kageyama.” he replied shortly.

“First name or last?”

“…Last.”

“You gonna tell me your first name or...?”

“What about you?” he asked instead of replying with what he wanted to know, still on the defensive. Which was petty of course but he felt like being petty. His boxers were stolen, he had a right.

“Hinata Shouyou.” Hinata said amicably and stuck his hand out, a greeting.

“Kageyama… Tobio.” Kageyama took his hand and shook it once, very briefly. 

“So, Kageyama, what’s eatin’ at your shorts this fine day?” Hinata ducked and sidestepped, successfully dodging the tall guy’s hand.

“Your piece of shit cat, that’s what. Just give me the boxers already.” He replied after a few more failed attempts at grabbing Hinata’s orange head.

“Hey!” His brows furrowed, taking offense for the cat that couldn’t care less, “Mittens isn't a piece of shit! And you curse too much! Wanna tell me how he even got these?”

Kageyama faltered for a second. No way was he going to admit to this guy that he left his window open that morning like an idiot. He wasn't an idiot. He just forgot.

“What? Did you leave your window open?” Hinata guessed and Kageyama straightened up, a habit he formed when he didn't want to admit something. “You did? You did!” He laughed and Kageyama could feel his face heating. He was at his limit with this guy.

Hinata uncrossed his arms and inspected the boxers in his hand, “Guess these dick boxers are your favorite…” he said seriously.

How he came to that conclusion Kageyama couldn’t fathom, “They’re not, dumbass! I just-! I-!” He was beginning to lose his composure, since apparently somewhat assaulting this Hinata person wasn't _already_ him losing his composure.

“Quit with the dumbass, dumbass!” Hinata was beginning to get a little pissed himself. He didn't appreciate coming home to getting called a dumbass.

“Would you just give me the damn fucking boxers so we can get this over with?!” He held his hand out, closing and opening it for emphasis.

“I don’t think I wanna!” Hinata replied stubbornly. “A person who downright curses at a stranger doesn't deserve their dick boxers!”

“Would you _quit_ calling them that?!”

Hinata shoved his hand over the railing, letting the boxers sway in the breeze.

“Don’t you _dare_.”

“Or what? You’ll call me dumbass some more?” Hinata played unconcerned, shaking his hand about.

 _How did this happen?_ Kageyama mentally cursed whatever being put him in this situation. All he wanted was to get those stupid piece of shit boxers back from that cat, go inside, and hopefully pass out for a few hours before he had to get up and resume life. Was that too much to ask? How did he end up trying to talk a short, orange haired, asshole of a person out of dropping his dick covered boxers down to the ground, floors below them.

“Okay, fine, sorry for calling you dumbass.” _Dumbass…_ Yes, he was behaving like a child.

“Why do I feel like you just called me a dumbass in your head?” Hinata asked and raised his brow while he wiggled the boxers around.

“ _OKAY!_ I’m sorry! Honestly!” Kageyama raised his hands slowly, “Just… _please_ don’t drop those down there.” He hated having to resort to begging but there was no way in fucking hell he was going to run down all those stairs, grab them, and risk being seen in public with that infernal piece of cloth.

It was an overreaction, sure, but at the moment it didn't register to him.

“Hmm.” Hinata hummed, taking his apology into consideration. “Okay, I’m sorry too.” he said, scratching his head and looking a little sheepish, “I probably shouldn't have teased you about them. Probably should've just given them back. Here.” He reached out and placed the boxers into Kageyama’s palm.

Kageyama was a little shocked at the apology but accepted his boxers back easily. Never did he imagine he'd feel relieved to be holding them.

“What a way to meet your neighbor, huh!” Hinata clapped a hand on Kageyama’s shoulder and grinned. “I _knew_ I had a neighbor! The apartment on the other side of me is empty but I knew you lived in that one! Well, not _you_ but someone. I never got around to saying hi. You know, getting ready for school starting, job hunting and all that. Oh! and this isn't my cat!" he pointed toward the animal, "He just lives around here and comes by often so I named him mittens. Mittens cause he his paws are white y’know? Kinda cliché but they really do look like mittens so it fits! I still can’t figure out his personality though. Like if he's friendly or independent. He apparently likes to steal underwear! So, that’s one more thing to know. Anyway, you said your name was Kageyama, right?”

Kageyama was at a loss. His brain had formed into a question mark. What was he supposed to say? What had just happened? He was calling this guy a dumbass just a second ago and anyone else would either flick him off, punch him out, or leave (he knew from experience) but instead this guy just starts running his mouth like they’re already friends? What…? He’s been told he has a scary face before… Maybe he should use that? Make a face so that he’d leave and he would avoid whatever was happening? No. That didn't seem right. He barely made it this far into a casual conversation with _anyone_ , much less someone he’d just insulted. What the fuc-

“Oh, I know!” Hinata reached into his bag, rummaging around for a second before coming back out with a juice carton in hand, “Peace offering!” He gave it to Kageyama and grinned. He did that a lot apparently.

“Thanks…” He looked down at the carton. It was his favorite.

“You don’t say much when you’re not angry.” Hinata commented, absently messing with his bags’ strap.

“I do...” he replied, kind of proving Hinata’s point in the process. _Damn_ did he feel like a fish out of water.

“Is it because you don’t know me? Oh? Are you shy, Kageyama?” Hinata covered his smiling mouth with his fingertips, teasing his neighbor.

“I’m not, dumbass. Excuse me for feeling awkward standing here with dick boxers in my hand.” he retorted, finally starting to get a reign on himself again.

“Oh yeah.” he replied like he’d forgotten about them already, “Just go throw them in or something then. And I thought you didn't want them being called “dick boxers”?”

“What the hell else am I supposed to call them?” 

“So it’s wrong when I say it? I guess I can understand. They’re not mine after all.”

_Again with that weird reasoning._

“I keep wondering how I haven’t seen you before though.” Hinata moved on, placing a hand under his chin, “How long have you been living here?”

Kageyama pursed his lips, feeling somewhat reluctant to answer, “A few months.”

“Oh, so you've been here longer. I've been here two weeks already and man, I still get lost coming back here!” He laughed and rubbed his neck, “You from here?”

“Yeah.” He paused for a second and continued with, “Look, I’m actually tired- I had a long day and...” He bent down to pick up his bag that he discarded on the floor earlier.

“Sure! Same here. I was dying to pass out on my way back.” Kageyama couldn’t believe that. Not from the amount of energy he’d been displaying. “Finding work’s a pain in the ass y'know?” he said offhandedly, “Anyway, sorry for earlier.” He pat Kageyama’s shoulder again, “I’ll see you!”

Hinata turned to his door, grabbing a lanyard that held his keys out of his pocket and Kageyama felt the need to say something. He stared while Hinata was trying to find the right key, clenching his dick boxers in his hand and trying to muster courage or whatever to say it. It was only when he found his key and unlocked his door that Kageyama said, or more accurately, muttered, “I’m sorry too… See ya.”

Hinata just grinned in reply, wide and bright like that was the only way he knew how, and then stepped into his apartment, leaving Kageyama and the cat outside. He looked over at the animal, thought for a second and decided what the hell... “Sorry I called you a piece of shit.” He apologized to the cat and before he could get any kind of reaction he turned on his heel and walked over to his door.

Once he was inside he let out a long, deep sigh and chucked his bag and boxers into the corner. Kageyama took a minute, giving himself a break as he finished the juice his neighbor had given him before he looked at his watch- it was already seven in the evening. He’d been out all day and all he wanted now was a shower, food, and sleep- in that order.

 _Before that_ , he thought as he walked over to his window, _better shut this_. No way was he going to fall victim to another robbery. 

Later that night, when he’d gotten his shower and his food, embarrassment washed over him as he lay in his bed. He covered his face with his hands and groaned. He was the type to replay embarrassing moments over and over in his head after they’d happened, even if it’d been resolved. _That’s it._ He was going to throw away those boxers first thing in the morning. Screw that fucking competition, those boxers weren't going to see the light of day ever again.

After the embarrassment settled down, his thoughts drifted to his newly acquainted neighbor. He too wondered why he hadn't seen him before. Two weeks ought to have been more than enough time to see each other. Maybe they’d been fated to meet over a boxer stealing cat, he thought jokingly in spite of himself but shook the thought from his head. 

Hinata had been short, but his presence, he could tell from the time he’d talked to him, was very large. His hair was a shade of orange he’d never seen on a person before, which made him think it was unnatural but he’d never say so. It was nice. Like the sun or something. And shit did he smile a lot. It was almost tiring.

Kageyama mentally shrugged and turned over onto his stomach. When his mind started to wander to other places, places he'd rather not revisit, he forced his thoughts elsewhere. As best he could... Instead, he thought of unimportant matters and the last thing he remembered before he fell asleep was he really liked the color orange.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> idk what i want to do with this. Originally i just planned for it to be a short lil first meeting thing over dick boxers but i could keep going maybe?? i'll decide myself but comments/kudos are p influential. u kno what i just decided i'll do more i'm not satisfied i need more gay kagehinas. thnks for reading :')


	2. Birthday Cake Ice Cream

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kageyama cant handle his vry manly hardcore workouts or letting ppl do kind things for him and hinata is a precious angel who knows sharing is caring.

Kageyama’s feet dragged along the pavement as he made his way back home, seemingly getting heavier with each step. He'd been walking for a good ten minutes now and was very tempted to just ditch his gym bag at this point. For some reason, on this blessed day he had to himself, he decided it was a good idea to go make use of the fitness center at the college. He was good about keeping in shape on his own, jogging, push-ups, sit-ups, etc., but for some goddamn reason, he decided to go a little harder than usual today.

Bad idea. Such a _bad_ fucking idea.

He was going to die. He was going to fall onto the scorching pavement, and fry up like SpongeBob did under the lamp in that fucking movie he didn’t know _why_ he watched. With every step he took his body cried. He could actually _feel_ his muscles crying, honestly, he wasn’t going crazy- they were fucking crying. Or was that him? Just to be sure he touched under his eye. Nope, it was his muscles.

Kageyama walked a few steps further, about to give up and just lie down on the sidewalk and not give a fuck about onlookers when he spotted a bench not too far in front of him. With a groan, he plopped himself down once he reached it and sighed, shutting his eyes underneath the shade and grateful for the conveniently placed tree. Having a moment to collect himself, he gathered his thoughts.

It was only four in the afternoon and the rest of his day was free of events, thankfully. Now, he _could_ get a start on things that needed doing but, his body _was_ dying, and from keeping himself healthy too, so he could cut himself some slack. At that moment, truthfully, all he wanted was to curl up on that bench and fall asleep but that wasn’t an option. He’d woken up way too early that morning and been subjected to watching that SpongeBob movie cause there was nothing else for him to do and now, it seems, he was in the same predicament. Not really, but he wasn’t going to tend to his responsibilities so yes, it was the same predicament.

He opened his eyes and let out a long breath, the brightness of the day rushing back as his eyes adjusted. Damn was it hot. Hottest day of the year so far probably… He grabbed his phone out of his pocket, checking the temperature and sure enough it was as he expected. Kageyama ran a hand over his face and shook his head. _Alright, time to get up. Get home._

When he did, he noticed across the street from him was a convenience store, family owned from the looks of it, not that he cared either way, and suddenly he had a need.

“Ice cream…” he said the words as he thought them and immediately he found himself crossing the street.

Never mind that he'd just gotten done with exercising, nothing mattered to him more in that moment than a pint of birthday cake ice cream. It was like a goddamn magnet was pulling him across the street. His mom _did_ often tell him had a one track mind when it came to things he wanted.

Kageyama reached the door and only faintly registered the greeting that was thrown his way when he entered, muttering out a hello as well. He walked to the back where most frozen or refrigerated things were usually kept, and spotted the x on his mental map.

Three steps away from his destination and he found himself bumping into an orange fuzz ball.

“Oh, sorry! I wasn’t paying attenti- AH!” The orange fuzz ball, which turned out _not_ to be a fuzz ball, let out a shout of surprise and Kageyama looked down, recognizing who it was.

“It’s you!” Hinata almost shouted, a grin plastering his face as he spoke, “Kageyama, right? The neighbor with the dic- mFF!”

Kageyama slapped a hand over his mouth, his expression somewhat hostile, “Keep your voice _down_!”

“Alright, alright!” Hinata replied when Kageyama released his face, thinking the guy really didn’t care about how he acted with practical strangers.  Not that he minded. He actually preferred people be their usual self with him right off the bat but if this guy wasn’t careful he was gonna get beat up by someone one day. _Or not…_ Hinata thought when he looked back up, getting a reminder of how tall he was… _Yeah, probably not._

“Don’t just go around saying shit like that! What if someone overheard you?” Kageyama hissed. He wasn’t about to let anyone else know about those shitty boxers, but his half-yell was non-threatening as far as Hinata was concerned.

“Right, sorry.” Hinata apologized but swiftly moved on, “So? What brings you here? Gettin’ some ice cream to beat the heat??” he said mischievously, and so full of energy too. Almost like the sun was his source of power and if he were to tell Kageyama that he actually might believe him.

He sighed and looked down at Hinata for a moment. Out of the two times he’d met this guy, both of them started off, for lack of a better word, frustratingly. He honestly didn’t know whether he was annoyed by him or not but he could tell there was _something_ bugging him when they talked. “Yes, actually.” he responded and began his walk to the freezer again.

“Me too!” Hinata replied bubbly and followed him, “Nothing better than ice cream on days like this. Popsicles are good too.”

Kageyama tuned him out, back to his one track mindedness, as he opened the glass door. He scanned the shelves and when he finally found what he was looking for, he was met with a hand grabbing it before he could. That would’ve been fine, a little irritating, but fine… if it hadn't been the last pint of birthday cake.

The last pint.

“What are you doing?” Kageyama swiveled around and put his attention back on Hinata.

“Uh…” the shorter looked around, then back and Kageyama, “getting my ice cream?”

“That…” he swallowed, “that’s the last birthday cake pint.”

Hinata raised a brow then looked back into the freezer, confirming Kageyama’s words for himself, “Guess so.” He instinctively started holding the pint with two hands, “What about it?”

“I need that.” he stated plainly. Desperation wasn’t his thing and he sure as hell wasn’t about to show this guy that side of him _twice_.

“No way.” Hinata rejected his statement, taking a defensive stance and protecting the ice cream as if it were his flesh and blood.

“Give me the ice cream.”

“ _No_. _Way_.”

“I was here first.”

“No you weren’t! I was!

“How would you know that? You didn’t see me come in here.”

“How would _you_ know _that_??”

“You ran into me, dumbass! Then made that “AH!” sound like you just saw me!”

“That… That still doesn’t prove you were in here first! How do you know I wasn’t??”

“I… saw you come in after me.”

“You _liar_!” Hinata laughed at his poor attempt and shoved his shoulder playfully. His laughter wasn't meant to be mistaken as conceding though, no _way_ was he giving up his ice cream. _  
_

Kageyama put a hand over his eyes and sighed.

That was it, he supposed. He lost his ice cream... Nothing he could do about it- well... he could just take it from him… He _could_. Kageyama looked down at Hinata and surveyed him quickly. At first glance he seemed short and small enough to overpower but his build told him otherwise. Despite his stature he was built impressively, not super buff but anyone could tell he worked out regularly, maybe played a sport or something. Anyway, now that Kageyama assessed him, overpowering him in a fight _might_ not work out like he thought it would. _Assuming_ Hinata would physically fight him for his ice cream...

“Look,” Hinata started, bringing Kageyama out of his multiple attack plans, “I’m not going to give it to you but I’ll share.”

Kageyama reflexively widened his eyes with hope but immediately squinted them, suspicion taking over.

 “I know _I_ hate it when stores run out of something I want. It’s sucks big time…” Hinata’s face fell a little; he seemed to be recalling a specific event from what Kageyama could tell, “Anyway, I can’t just leave knowing you wanted some too.” He perked up, the memory fading just as quickly as it came, and shifted on his feet as he talked. “Unless you’re gonna try and steal it…” He backed up a little, narrowing his eyes.

Kageyama sighed. It was better than nothing and he really wanted that ice cream. Badly. His mouth was actually beginning to water. “I’m not going to _steal_ it.” he muttered, though just a few seconds ago he’d been planning to. “How would we even share it? We don’t have spoons or a separate bowl.”

“They have spoons in the back!” Hinata answered leading Kageyama to the small counter in the back where they had those mini cups of cereal, “I don’t think they have bowls though…”

“See?” Kageyama pushed his point.

“What?” Hinata turned around, “Afraid of sharing? You got a _thing_ about germs?” he replied jokingly, but then said, as if he thought he’d been insensitive, “Though if you do I can respect that.”

Kageyama looked to the pint still in Hinata’s hand. He had to make a choice soon... The ice cream was going to get gross… “Fine.” he answered as he reached over Hinata to grab two plastic spoons in the container, “I’ll pay for half.”

“Psh! Don’t worry about it!” Hinata smiled and pat Kageyama’s shoulder. He sure was touchy… “It’s only, what, two dollars? It’s fine.”

“No, really-”

“It’s _fine_!” Hinata insisted and noted how grumpy this made his new friend look but shrugged it off. He could stand to let someone buy him half an ice cream, it wouldn’t kill him. Thing was, Kageyama just didn’t like being indebted to people. Even over something as small as ice cream.

Hinata paid the cashier, turns out it was more than two dollars, ice cream sure was getting more and more expensive, and they were out of there shortly. The two stepped outside and back into the heat. It was still spring but damn, the sun, which they both shielded their eyes from, just wasn’t letting up that day.

“So? Where’d you wanna eat this?” Hinata asked. “It’ll melt really quickly out here…” He looked around and spotted a bench, the one Kageyama had been sitting on earlier, searching for options. “Home’s not too far, we could just go there. Get out of this heat.”

Kageyama considered his suggestion. He _did_ want to get home and into some air conditioning, he’d spare himself today and turn it on, but, he glanced down at the plastic bag his ice cream was sitting in, he really wanted to just tear the thing open and devour it. What was with him and ice cream today?

For a few more seconds he thought about it, but his hunger won out.

“Let’s just eat it quickly.” he retorted and began walking over to the bench, thankful they’d at least have shade.

Hinata groaned but followed, “You can’t just eat ice cream quickly... You gotta enjoy it. And it’s too hot to be eating out here...”

“Stop complaining.” Kageyama sat and shoved off his bag, placing it on the ground.

Hinata followed suit but not without more comments on how to enjoy ice cream, “Plus, that’s how you get brain freeze.”

“I eat it fast all the time and I never get brain freeze.”

“Bullshit!” He pulled the ice cream out and Kageyama handed him a spoon, “That’s impossible.”

“Not if you do it right.” he countered and took the pint from Hinata’s hand since he was getting sidetracked.

Hinata scoffed, “There’s no way. _No_ way can you _perfect_ not getting brain freeze.”

“ _You_ just can’t do it.” Kageyama stated simply, intentionally ruffling Hinata’s feathers for whatever reason.

Hinata’s lips scrunched together, displeased with someone telling him he couldn’t do something. To prove he’d be able to do it, which he had _no_ confidence in, he snatched the pint back from Kageyama, and scooped up a huge spoonful, promptly shoving it into his mouth.

Kageyama looked at him like he already knew the outcome and took the pint back, but Hinata was determined.

He was determined but the cold hit the roof of his mouth and he could feel it coming on. That was alright, that was fine, as long as he didn’t show it on his face, right? So, he stared at the tree to the side of Kageyama, focusing... focusing... and..., “Ah, _shit_!!!” He brought his hands to either side of his head and bent over, “Oh shit, _shit_.”

“Told you.” Kageyama shoveled a spoonful into his mouth, about the same size as what Hinata had taken, and Hinata watched. Moments pass. No brain freeze.

“You’re an alien.” Hinata said sourly.

“No, I just know how to eat ice cream right.” He replied as he ate more.

“Only aliens would be able to do that!” Hinata insisted and took another spoonful, smaller this time.

“What kind of sci-fi movies have _you_ been watching…?”

“I’ve never met anyone who didn’t get brain freeze.”

“No, you’ve just never met anyone who could eat ice cream righ-”

“I will take this ice cream and I will run. If you say that _one_ more time…” Hinata threatened.

Kageyama scoffed after he swallowed another bite, “Like you could outrun me.” _I don’t think he can, anyway…_

Hinata shot up, his eyes lit, “You wanna bet?!”

“It wouldn’t be much of a bet.”

“I’ll make you eat those words just wait.”

“Sure, let me eat _this_ first.” Kageyama, mentally, was definitely up for a race but the ice cream was the number one priority at the moment.

“Don’t finish it all!” Hinata protested and sat back down, snatching the pint away and looking into it, making sure his share was still there. “You eat fast!” he said when he assessed how much was gone and then took some more for himself.

Kageyama shrugged. He’d been told he practically inhales his food before but never really paid attention.

Hinata took three more spoonfuls and then passed the pint back to Kageyama, “Here, you can have the rest.”

“…What? You sure?”

“Yeah.” Hinata stood up again and stretched his arms, “That brain freeze kinda put me off and besides, you probably wanted it more than I did.”

“How do you figure that?” he asked, his tone a little defensive.

Hinata gave a half laugh, “Well _I_ would never try to fight someone over a pint of ice cream.”

“I wasn’t-” Kageyama started to protest but cut himself short, he knew it wouldn’t be believable.

A few seconds of silence passed but Hinata decided to break it before it could continue, “Bet you can’t finish what’s left in four bites.”

Kageyama grinned a little at the challenge. He looked down to see how much was left exactly and thought he’d be able to do it… maybe. “Okay. You’re on.”

* * *

He couldn’t do it.

He had been on his third spoonful when the spoon broke under the pressure of trying to dig out as much as he was trying to get. Hinata had doubled over laughing when he heard it break and saw Kageyama’s face, seemingly satisfied, like he’d gotten even with him from the brain freeze thing. Which he hadn’t, as far as Kageyama was concerned. He still couldn’t help but get a brain freeze so it was still his victory. Why he considered something like that a victory? he didn’t know.

They were walking back now, both of them heading to their apartments but Kageyama was a little miffed they were going the same direction. It wouldn’t make sense not to walk back together, or more like it was just be extremely awkward… but still, there was a slight annoyance itching at his head while they walked back. He couldn’t place why, exactly, he was annoyed. Hinata had been nice enough, even shared his ice cream, so why...?

 _Maybe it’s because he doesn’t stop talking…_ Kageyama thought. Hinata was now on his fifth string of thoughts spoken aloud. The taller mentally shrugged as he knew he couldn't do anything about it, so he just tuned him out, letting him ramble on.

But, something strange was happening now.

He didn’t quite notice at first, the speed they were walking, but it was increasing steadily.

Kageyama spared a glance over at Hinata. His eyebrows were set determinedly, and his eyes looked focused. _Oh_? Kageyama noted. He’d stopped talking. Experimentally, he picked up his pace and Hinata matched it. He smirked a little. _He’s having trouble keeping up. Or, wait..._ , his smirk disappeared and his eyebrows scrunched a little, _is he trying to go faster than me?_

Hinata’s thoughts confirmed the latter.

He went a little quicker now, basically power walking at this point, and spoke when Hinata advanced in front of him, “Oi, what the hell are you doing?”

“What?” Hinata looked over at him when Kageyama matched his speed, “What are _you_ doing?”

“Stop-” Hinata began to go faster and he followed, “Stop trying to go faster than me!”

“ _You_ stop! You’re the one who started!” Hinata accused then broke out into a full run, leaving him behind.

“You _little_ -!” Kageyama started running as well, his legs screaming at him due to his work out earlier. Oh fuck, he _really_ shouldn’t have gone so hard on himself earlier… He was definitely gonna feel it in the morning.

“Who’s little?!” Hinata snapped from in front of him and went faster, the unintentional insult apparently fueling his new speed.

Kageyama only grunted in response, deciding to stop talking and just focus on beating this dumbass to the apartments. He was fast, really fast, but Kageyama wasn’t about to lose- even if it added to injury. Shit, he REALLY shouldn’t have gone to the gym earlier. Screw gyms.

They made it back in less than three minutes, and the two immediately made a desperate last stretch of jogging over to the stairs when in view.  

“Oh fu… _shit_.” Hinata panted as they both sat down, clutching his chest through his t-shirt, “I… I won…”

Kageyama laid back and spread his limbs out, not caring if he was taking up all the space on the stairs. “Shut up… It was a tie… dumbass.” he groaned out, already feeling his legs stiffening up. _Fuck, why the hell am I even racing this guy?_ He knew himself to be competitive but getting into it with a stranger was ridiculous.

 _Tylenol… I need Tylenol…_ His mind went into auto-pilot, thinking ahead. Mentally, he was already in his apartment getting a glass of water.

“Fine, it’s a tie this time…” Hinata spoke again and got up, standing beside Kageyama looking down at him, “I’m gonna beat you next time though.”

“You wish.” His response was immediate and not entirely his own, but he agreed with what he said.

“Agh, oh God…” Hinata groaned, and wanted to lie down like Kageyama was doing but he knew he needed to stretch it out or he'd regret it, so he did. “Come on. You’re gonna get all stiff laying like that you gotta-”

“I _know_.” Kageyama cut him off and got up, internally cursing at the soreness, “I don’t need you to tell me that.”

Hinata hummed in response, he had adjusted quickly to his new friends’ attitude. He found him easy to read, despite having only talked to him twice. There wasn’t much to hide now anyway, not when the first time you meet someone they were about to fight a cat over a pair of weird ass boxers.

After a good stretch they began climbing the stairs, slowly. The two were settled on the top floor, which was the third, the complex they lived in wasn’t all that big or fancy, even so, the trip wasn't as easy as they were used to.

Hinata reached his door first and unlocked it, having already gotten his keys out on the way up. He looked over to Kageyama, who was now reaching his own door and gave a happy, “See you!” in parting. Kageyama replied with the same words, though he lacked Hinata’s enthusiasm. He was desperately trying to keep his discomfort off his face so it wasn’t like he could’ve said it any better even if he wanted to.

 _Pain killers, pain killers..._ He mentally chanted while he walked into his apartment and over to his bathroom, intentionally ignoring the sink full of dishes as he did. The bottle he was looking for was in his drawer, nestled in between his toothbrush and toothpaste and he’d never been so happy to see it. Without delay, he grabbed it but immediately he could tell something was off.

_No…_

He opened the small bottle... Nothing.

Kageyama didn’t cry often, but now felt like an exception.

No tears fell though, as he dropped the bottle in the trash and walked back out of his bathroom. He didn’t care, he so didn’t care. He didn’t care that he was walking out of his apartment and over to Hinata’s door. He was sure he’d rather do anything _other_ than ask for a favor, be indebted to him further- sharing an ice cream was already pushing it by his standards, but he needed fucking Tylenol or _something_. He was never going to the gym again, ever. That was a lie but in the moment he believed it.

Kageyama knocked on his door, a little more forceful than he would’ve liked but whatever. He didn’t _care_. Oh, how he didn’t care. He just needed relief. Surely his neighbor would have some. _Please have some oh my God._

Hinata opened the door a few seconds later, shoeless and t-shirtless, save for the undershirt he was wearing, and surprise colored his face. “Uh, something happen? Forget to call me a dumbass one more time?” he snickered at his joke, but his grin faded a little when he properly looked at neighbor’s face.

“Do you uh, have some kind of… pain killer?” He kept his voice smooth despite the ache, if a little awkward.

Hinata’s brow’s furrowed as he looked him over, as if searching for injury, “I think so? You okay?”

Kageyama wanted to laugh. Yes, he was fine, just being an absolute child about muscle ache. “Yes.” His answer was short but he could tell it wasn’t bought.

Hinata narrowed his eyes slightly. He knew it was a lie. You don’t just go over to your neighbor and ask them for pain killers if you’re okay. “You can just say if you’re hurt y’know.” Hinata said casually, “You don’t have to lie about it.”

He waited a moment for a reply but he didn’t get one, “Yeah, I have some. I need to look for it though.” He stepped aside, opening his door wider, “You can come in while I find it.” With that he walked back into his apartment, not giving Kageyama time to reject his offer, somehow knowing he would, and left the door open for him to follow.

Kageyama grit his teeth, but went in anyway.

It’d been surprisingly pleasant- well, as pleasant as it could be when his body felt like it was dying. Not that he’d admit to either.

An hour later, he went back to his apartment holding a full bottle of Tylenol, another juice carton, and feeling a little better.

Surely, that'd been the pain killers in action. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> no kageyama, it's the power of blooming lovey dovey wonders.  
> thanks for the comments and kudos on the first chapter :') i wanted to make this one longer but that meant it would take me longer to finish and i wasn't havin that. just fyi, this au is a v free au where i can have them do any random shit so if it happens in the future that they're doin something and u think they should be working or at school shh sh dont question it. just think of it as class got canceled that day or smth. feel 100% free to leave suggestions or prompts you want me to work into this I'd love more ideas. thank u for reading!


	3. Minor Acceptance

* **BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP** *

Hinata groaned.

* **BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP** *

In his fading slumber, he turned away from the source of noise and brought his blanket up over his head, _just… drown it out… it’s Saturday… nothing going on…_ he thought sleepily.

* **BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP** *

It was working… The noise was gradually becoming less annoying.

* **BEEP BEEP Beep beep…** *

* **bee…p b…eep…** *

* **… … …** *

“TURN THAT **FUCKING** ALARM OFF OR I'M BREAKING THROUGH THIS WALL.”

Hinata shot up at the voice, his arms immediately coming up to defend himself against the sudden intruder but as his eyes adjusted to the room he noted there was no one in there but himself. _What…?_

Against his will, his imaginings went wild and he gasped when he came to a conclusion, his heart almost bursting out of his chest, “A ghost?!” 

His suggestion was quickly shot down though when he heard banging against his wall, making him jump yet again. _Oh, it’s just him…_  

“ **THE. ALARM.** ” He heard Kageyama’s muffled yelling, allowing himself to laugh since he wasn’t there to kill him for it …which he probably would. 

“Such a baby.” Hinata sighed and reached over to his bedside table to shut the alarm off, practically feeling his neighbor’s relief as he did so.

This had happened a few times now. Hinata was trying to make an effort to get up earlier, about five thirty in the morning, and his neighbor wasn’t taking it so well. The first time actually, Hinata had ignored the alarm all together and Kageyama’d been waiting at least an hour for him to turn it off. He didn’t last longer than that though. After the hour was up he walked outside and marched to Hinata’s door, almost busting it down with how hard he banged on it. There was _actually_ a dent left in it, which, he refused to apologize to him for. The landlady, sure, but no, not him. It wasn't like _he_ was the one living there or anything.

That was what he got for trying to get up early and implement new habits, he supposed. He got better at it with time, a week to be exact. It was just today that he’d forgot to change the alarm time.

Well, he was up now... His neighbor all but scaring the soul out of him… 

Hinata ran a hand through his hair and down his face, it felt gross. _That’s what I get for passing on a shower last night…_ he thought sourly as he pulled the blankets off himself and got up. Yesterday had been a hot day full of job searching and by the end of it he didn’t care if he was rank with sweat. Sleep was the only thing he cared about at that point. Besides, he was more than liable to fall asleep in the shower… unfortunately. There’d been an… accident, when he was younger and maybe five more since then so, yeah, best he just go straight to sleep.

His hunting yesterday may prove fruitful, though. He was told to wait a few days to a week to hear anything back so until then he was free. Well, as free as he could be with prepping for classes looming over his head.

He groaned unabashedly as he walked to his bathroom and turned the shower on. That could stand to be put off for a little longer. _Maybe_ … Should he put it off?? Was that-? No, no, yeah it was alright. A few more days couldn’t hurt.

With the thoughts of school easily smushed into a corner of his mind he felt a grin spread on his face when he fully realized he was completely free today.

Without another thought, he stripped and threw his pajamas into the corner of his bathroom, an over-sized t-shirt he’d bought over-sized on purpose and a pair of black shorts, happily stepping into the warm water awaiting him.

* * *

Kageyama, on the other side of the wall, was having trouble going back to sleep. He’d already had troubling falling asleep the night before and now _this_. All because his crappy neighbor had to try and be “active” and “responsible” by getting up at the asscrack of dawn. Sure, the betterment of one’s self was admirable but not when it came at the cost of his sleep. And hell, he didn’t even get up like he was supposed to! Leaving the alarm going and going for hours until he’d finally snapped and readied himself to break in and shut it off himself. Luckily, it hadn’t come to that; he’d probably be in the middle of a lawsuit, but anyway…

He sighed and turned over, thinking maybe a new position would lull him back into his dreams but he had no such luck.

What time was it anyway? He grabbed his phone charging on his nightstand and checked, fucking _five fifty_ in the morning.

No, no way was he getting up yet. God _himself_ could show up and he’d have to drag him out of his bed if he wanted him up.

It was going well, everything was quiet for while and his thoughts were slowly drifting until he heard a loud bang against his wall and Hinata screaming in reaction to whatever he did. His eyes shot open then, wide and coherent when he desperately wanted them to be shut and seeing new dreams… _Dumbass_.

He gathered getting the three more hours of sleep he usually got wasn’t gonna happen and sat up, slowly stretching and groaning at the sensation of it. His bed sucked. Granted him mornings full of dull back pain. It wasn’t anything like the one he was used to back home, but the good thing about this one was that it wasn’t anywhere _near_ his home, so he could deal with it.

_First things first_ , he tried to get his thoughts in order and start his usual morning routine, _shower…_

As he turned the knob to get the water going he idly thought about what Hinata had done to himself to have hit the wall that hard… His curiosities faded as the bathroom began to fill up with steam and he decided he was better off not knowing.

The shower was quick, as were all his showers- long enough to get him clean but never enough for him to relax under the water, and he dressed in sweats and a plain black t-shirt he threw on the floor last night. His wardrobe wasn't very extensive, to say the least.

After getting a glass of milk from his fridge and quickly downing it, he went and sat on his couch -it’d come with the apartment- and stared off into space.

…

…He didn’t know what to do with himself.

Kageyama groaned and ran a hand over his face.

“That bastard…” He cursed, still blaming Hinata for his too early awakening. The last time he’d been up this early he was subjected to awful morning ads and that damned SpongeBob movie…

Slowly, he let his head fall onto the seat of the couch, bringing his legs up with him, _maybe I can just go back to sleep here instead…_ The couch was _way_ too small to comfortably house his body the way he was laying but he could deal with it for a few hours. Plus, it was further away from any noise his neighbor could make so yeah, this could work for him…

Suddenly, he heard a knock come from his door.

“For fucks sake…” He muttered and got up, purposely walking as slow as he wanted to the door. It should’ve been strange to him that someone was at his door so early but he didn’t care to think, any distraction was welcome to him at this point.

Kageyama unlocked the door and opened it, revealing Hinata standing outside looking awake as ever and he could tell there was some question about to be asked. He hadn’t known him for very long but the guy wore his emotions so plainly on his face it was hard to feel like a stranger.

“No.” He said immediately, backtracking on his “any distraction is welcome” thought from earlier.

“Wait!” Hinata stopped the door from closing on his face, “You didn’t even let me say anything!”

“Whatever it is say it to the door.”

“Are you always so grumpy in the morning??” Hinata questioned.

“I’m not- Whose fault is it anyway that I was forced out of sleep?!” Kageyama retorted. This guy had the nerve to call him grumpy when he was the cause of it all.

“That’s what I came here for!” He replied, his voice rising to match Kageyama’s. “I wanted to apologize! I heard your shower turn on-” Kageyama would’ve been skeptical about that but the walls in this place were pretty thin, “and I knew it was my fault you got up so…”

“So…?” He repeated when his neighbor trailed off.

“I don’t know!” Hinata groaned his words, “That was all I got. I am sorry though. I know it’s the weekend and stuff…”

Kageyama sighed and opened the door wider, crossing his arms before he said, “It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.” The apology seemed sincere enough so… whatever. Not like his life depended on those few hours of sleep he was gonna miss.

Hinata squinted his eyes, unbelieving, “You sure…? Doesn’t look fine.” He gestured to Kageyama’s person.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I dunno! You still look grumpy.”

“This is my face...”

“Hmm…” He brought a hand to his chin, studying Kageyama’s expression and eventually gave into believing him, “Okay then, just making sure. It's hard to tell whether you’re pissed or not. I'm getting better at it though."

Kageyama wanted to take offense to that, but, well, it wasn't like he hadn't heard it a million times...

“Since you’re up wanna go get some breakfast?” Hinata grinned, way too widely for how early it was in Kageyama’s opinion, “My treat for waking you up.”

Kageyama stiffened at the suggestion. Breakfast? With him? Were they even friends? They’d barely been aware of each other’s existence for about a month and a half now and he wanted to give him free breakfast? Which, honestly, shouldn’t be surprising to him at this point since Hinata had already given him things like his favorite juice and milk cartons, and pain killers when he needed it desperately for nothing in return. Still, it unsettled him. Which made him come back to the question of were they even friends??

The only thing that slightly outweighed his discomfort was the notion of free food. He didn't have much in the way of money, and eating out was something he told himself he should rarely do if he wanted actual groceries in his fridge. Did it work out that way? Not really, but anyway, this was free food being offered here... No. Kageyama couldn’t let him take the entire bill. He would pay for his own food. He had enough for at least one cheap meal and had no idea what his neighbors finances were like… Also, he didn’t like owing people anyhow.

“Fine.” He agreed but quickly added, “I’ll pay for myself though.”

“No!” Hinata disagreed, “The whole point was to make up for earlier. I’ll pay.”

Kageyama clicked his tongue in annoyance at the stubborn expression Hinata was making, “I said it was okay already. There’s nothing to make up for-”

“No way. No can do.” Hinata shook his head, not letting it go, “I’m paying and if you say no again I’ll just go buy some food and shove it through your window.”

“Now that I know your plan I’ll just lock my window.”

“Then I’ll shove it through your mail slot!”

“Would you just- Just let me pay for my own damn food!” he found it ridiculous they were arguing over who was paying before they’d even left.

“No.” he said simply and Kageyama was done bickering.

“Whatever.” he replied and walked back into his home, leaving the door open, “I have to change so come in and wait if you want, I don’t care.”

Hinata ignored his tone and smiled, taking the invitation with eagerness. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t curious about his neighbor’s apartment. To Hinata, Kageyama seemed like the neat and orderly type but looks could be deceiving.

After he walked in, he shut the door behind him and went about confirming his curiosities, striding into the small living room. Everything was neat for the most part but you could tell the place was lived in. There were magazines and shoes by the table and charms hanging by the entrance to the tiny balcony all the apartments had. It smelled good too, Hinata noticed. He took a big whiff, it smelled… cinnamon-y? Or maybe… vanilla-y? He couldn’t tell. He'd never been too good with identifying smells. Whatever is was it smelled damn good.

Hinata could hear Kageyama shuffling about in the other room so he decided to pass the time by grabbing one of the magazines on the table and idly flipping through it. It was an outdoors-y catalog, a few issues old by the date at the top. _So he’s into… camping?_ Hinata thought, forgetting everything else one could do outdoors. He shrugged to himself and turned the page, wincing at some of the terrible camo printed pants when he heard Kageyama emerge from his room.

Hinata immediately choked in surprise when Kageyama came into view, pulling a shirt over his head but not before Hinata was granted a full view of his... shirtless-ness. He had suspected his neighbor worked out frequently, so abs were expected, but to get an eyeful with no warning was a little, a _lot_ surprising. Before he could be caught staring, he shot his eyes back down to the boring magazine in his lap.

Kageyama only looked over at him curiously after he pulled his shirt down, finding him looking intently at one of his old catalogs. “What?” he asked when he sat down on his couch and began putting his shoes on.

“Oh, it’s just, uh, the prices.” he smoothed over the question, “These tents are _really_ expensive. You’re into, uh camping?”

“Not really.” Kageyama shook his head, “Just something to look at. I bought that a few months ago cause I was bored.”

Hinata laughed, “You bought an outdoors magazine for fun?”

“Shut up.”

“No, no really. Were the pictures of the intense fishermen amusing to look at?”

Kageyama stood up, crossing his arms and grinning mischievously, a bad sign to Hinata, “Okay, you wanna make fun of me? How about I ask you why you hit the wall earlier and then screamed like an angry toddler afterward?”

That shut Hinata up.

“…It was... nothing…” he mumbled.

“No, no _really_.” Kageyama mimicked his words.

“Okay fine!” Hinata threw his hands up but still refused to tell him what’d happened, “No making fun of your reading choices. Got it. Can we go? I'm starving.”

Kageyama huffed out a small laugh, surprising Hinata. He didn’t say anything because he didn't want to get hit but it _was_ surprising. It’d been the first time he heard him laugh, even if it was short lived. He idly wondered what his too serious face would look like if he were dying of laughter...

“Why _did_ you hit the wall earlier?” Kageyama cut through his thoughts and he could feel his face redden as they were walking out his door.

“Shut up…”

* * *

“So it’s not blue? I could’ve sworn it was blue… you seem like a blue kind of guy… So… green… then? No? Damn it.” Hinata swore and almost slammed his glass of orange juice down on the table.

They’d gone to a small cafe that Hinata apparently frequents a few blocks away from the apartments and thankfully, the place wasn’t crowded. Kageyama was _not_ in the mood to be surrounded by people so early in the morning. It was a nice place, small, and there were plants everywhere, not like _unorganized_ everywhere but it was… nice. Bright and open, airy… Kageyama hadn’t really thought of it before but now that he did, he realized he liked plants… Anyway, they’d ordered and eaten quickly, and now Hinata was trying, and _failing_ , to guess Kageyama’s favorite color. In the name of “getting to know my neighbor”.

“You suck at this.” Kageyama said plainly, sipping on his water.

“Shut up! There’re only so many colors I can guess. I’ll get it eventually.” Hinata muttered, surveying Kageyama with squinted eyes. He did this every time he had to guess again.

“Red! It’s red.”

“Nope.”

Kageyama stifled a laugh when Hinata clicked his tongue and slouched back against his chair, crossing his arms in frustration.

To be fair, he was going to say Hinata was wrong every time. Saying his favorite color would be… embarrassing- with Hinata at least. He shouldn’t care but… when his favorite color was exactly the same as the guy’s hair, it made him a little more than uncomfortable with saying it. Hinata probably wouldn’t even associate that guess with himself but he hadn’t thought of that. He was actually _enjoying_ Hinata’s reaction every time he said he was wrong anyhow. So really, this was a win win for him.

“Okay, let’s move on from colors.”

“Giving up already?” Kageyama shook his head in fake disappointment.

“No! It just feels like you’re gonna say I’m wrong no matter what I say. So it’s your fault.”

“How the hell is it my fault?” It was. It was his fault.

“I don’t know! Maybe you’re embarrassed by your favorite color? Maybe it’s something weird, like yellow.”

Kageyama raised a brow, “…How is yellow a weird color?”

“I don’t know! I just said some random color. Anyway, are you sure I was wrong all those times?” his expression turned serious, “No lying!”

“Yes, you were wrong.” That, at least, was the truth. He hadn’t guessed orange yet.

“Hm, fine.” he looked a little more pleased than before, like him getting it wrong was better than the alternative. “Bet you can’t guess my favorite.”

Kageyama took his bet silently and leaned forward a little, surveying him as Hinata had done.

Hinata subconsciously scooted back a little at that, a little surprised by the sudden shift in Kageyama’s expression and the sudden closeness- he wasn’t really that close but it felt like it. The guy had an... intense... presence to say the least. Now, to have him one-hundred percent focused on himself, it felt a little uncomfortable. Well, no, actually. That was the wrong word. He felt more... invigorated?? Maybe...??? Whatever. It was a weird feeling and he didn't really care to find out what it was.

Thankfully, Kageyama spared him anymore more intense staring time, and came up with an answer, "Black."

Hinata frowned. "What the fuck?"

Kageyama's eyes widened a bit at his repsonse, "Woah, language." Not that he was one to say anything about swearing, but in the times he'd talked to his neighbor he'd yet to hear anything worse than variations of "damn" come out of his mouth.

"Oh shut up." Hinata crossed his arms again, "Like you can talk Mr. Every Other Word I Say Is Fuck."

Kageyama ignored the mostly truthful insult and replied, "So I was right, then?"

"Yes..." He said with huff, blowing his fringe out of his face, "Here I am trying to guess your favorite goddamn color for _what_..." he looked at his watch, "a good _ten minutes_ now? And you get mine on your first try?" _Some mind reading bullshit..._ he thought, frustrated.

A smug grin covered Kageyama's face, "What can I say? It's all about how-"

"If you say there's a _"right"_ way to guess someone's favorite color, I'll throw what's left of my juice in your face." Hinata cut him off, eyes sharp and hand ready.

"Okay, okay. Keep your juice where it is." He conceded, not really wanting to have to do laundry any sooner than he had to. Doing laundry was a _royal_ pain in his ass.

"You have to tell me yours now." Hinata decided, "It's in the rules."

"Bullshit. What rule is there that says I have to tell you?"

"The rule of common decency?"

"You and I both know by now that I don't have that."

" _Come on!!!!!_ " Hinata whined, laying his head on the table and looking up at Kageyama, "It's only fair! Come on! Come oooon!"

"Ugh fuck, okay fine just stop doing that." Kageyama half hissed, glancing around to see if people had started to stare at them because of Hinata's outburst.

He really, really, _really_ didn't want to tell him. Again, he was most likely making a bigger deal of it that was necessary, but whatever the fuck he was human and he had a right to blow things out of proportion. Hinata probably wouldn't even connect it to his hair... And it wasn't like his hair was the reason he liked orange anyway! Just because it was the exact shade he preferred... didn't mean anything... Fucking _whatever_.

"It's orange." He muttered, looking anywhere except at Hinata, mentally praying he wouldn't tease or make it weird. He just wasn't very naturally equipped to handle things like that... whatever those things were.

"I _said_ orange you bastard!" Hinata yelled, looking downright scandalized, "You said I hadn't guessed the right one!"

"Uh, no, you didn't?" Kageyama recounted. He was pretty fucking sure he didn't say orange.

"I did...! ...I did too...?" Hinata trailed off, looking up as he tried to remember all the colors he mentioned, "Did I? Ugh, I don't know anymore. Asking someone's favorite color has never been this difficult before." He looked up at Kageyama now, and suddenly smacked his shoulder.

"Ow! What the fuck?" Kageyama placed a hand where he'd been smacked.

"Why do you make everything so difficult?" Hinata complained, though there was no real bite to it. "Is your favorite color such a secret? I don't know why it would be? Orange is a nice color y'know? And that's coming from someone who's had to live with it all their life." He finished and sipped on his juice.

"Holy shit, that's your real hair color?" He asked before he could stop himself. It was something he'd been curious about since he'd met him.

"Yep." Hinata replied and pulled up some of his wild hair covering his ear, exposing his roots, which were indeed pure orange, and... a _lot_ of ear piercings. Kageyama swallowed. "Someone on my dad's side of the family apparently had orange hair. Me and my sister both have it."

"Huh..." Kageyama nodded, his curiosity having been satisfied. Though, those piercings were rousing a whole new set of curiosities. He needed to change the fucking subject. "You have a sister? I always thought having a sibling would be fun or something..." He trailed off, accidentally saying more than he intended in his lame attempt. He was feeling way too relaxed, but also not? This was weird.

Hinata's eyes brightened at the mention of siblings, "Yeah it's pretty fun despite the stereotype that surrounds it. Like, they can be annoying of course but that's pretty much everybody you meet." He sipped on his juice some more, "Though I feel like our relationship's better now that I'm out of that house."

Kageyama's eyes narrowed slightly at his phrasing... "that house"... Mentally, he shrugged. It wasn't his business, nor was it his place to pry.

"How old is she?" He ventured further, shifting the topic somewhat.

"She's thirteen, a middle schooler. People would tease her about her hair y'know. Just like they did to me. I once told her if she needed her older brother to rough some kids up I would," Hinata laughed at the memory, "but she came home with a bloody nose and bruised fist one day, smiling too. She said she'd taken care of the kids herself. Told me they'd run off like "scaredy cats"." He imitated her voice there, "She even made friends with some new kids that admired her for beating the bullies up. Though that got her in _major_ trouble with our parents and the school, I was proud." He ended the short story and Kageyama hadn't realized how far he'd leaned on the table to listen.

He scooted back a bit and replied, "Of course you were. I would be too. Kids can be fucking mean sometimes..."

Hinata made a face, almost a grimace as he recalled something, "Mmm, well, my parents would beg to differ. The punishment she got was just awful... I think I was just glad I knew she would be able to take care of herself. So I wouldn't have to feel guilty for leaving."

Suddenly, he zipped his mouth shut, looking up at Kageyama with almost panicked eyes, "Wow, sorry. Didn't mean to get all," he waved at the air with his hands, " _y'know_ \- whatever that was. Anyway!" He got up, his chair scratching against the floor as he did, and quickly tried to change the topic, "What do you wanna do now? It's a Saturday, I'm guessin' you're free? Got plans? Wanna waste the day?"

Kageyama stood up as well, putting a few dollars on the table for the waiter that'd served them, and studied Hinata for a brief moment. That exchange hadn't been what he was expecting at all when Hinata had suggested getting breakfast and it turns out that he _didn't_ have the guy all figured out. He supposes he was stupid for thinking so in the first place. He'd assumed Hinata was some peppy guy, always positive, smiling, a guy who didn't have any problems... again, it was stupid of him. He wasn't going to pry, not just because it would be an asshole move, Hinata clearly didn't want to talk about it, but also because he was probably the worst person to go to for any kind of comfort. In all honesty, with his luck, he'd probably only make it worse.

So, fine, this was happening. He was making a friend or whatever. Hinata was fucking loud, talked too much, wanted to make everything a competition, though he contributed his fair share to that, and probably the most annoying person he'd ever met. But, it'd been a long time since he'd felt as relaxed as he just did and even he, being the asshole that he was, couldn't deny that it felt nice for a change.

So fucking fine, he could try to be social, try to make new friends. Not like he was opposed to it or anything in the first place. It was just hard and for the first time in a long time, someone was making it pretty fucking easy for him.

"What? Are you one of those people who're "productive" on the weekends?" He added when Kageyama didn't respond.

"Seeing as though we're both soon to be students, we really _should_ be productive on the weekends, dumbass." He retorted but Hinata just grinned.

"So is that a yes?"

...

"Fine."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> haha wow, over a year since i updated this... whoops lmao. hope yall can still enjoy. i finally have some writing motivation flowing again, and actual time to write, so yeah~ :')


	4. Some Things Work Out

Okay, first of all, Hinata considered himself a good fucking person, if he were being honest. He’s never stolen anything, never intentionally hurt someone’s feelings, and he _always_ makes sure to say thank you to the waiter or waitress… All in all, Hinata considered himself a pretty good guy. His sister, an actual angel, even thought so, too. So why, on this beautiful, sunny day, was he staring at yet another application rejection email.

Hinata groaned and flopped backwards onto his mattress, head hitting his pillow, “Why is this so haaaaard…” He shoved his laptop off his legs and turned to pick at the threads on his blanket.

Finding a job had been the number one priority when he finally decided to move out of his house. He need to live of course, and the less he could live off of his family’s money the fucking better. Truthfully, he probably should’ve found one _before_ he moved. But _nooo_ . _I’ll worry about that when it comes,_ he had said. Fuck past him.

Ugh, whatever. He’d never been too good at planning things ahead of time and he didn’t expect that to change.

Hinata turned to lay on his back again and stared at his ceiling. It was white. A bit dingy, but he didn’t care. His new place was nice. It was old and creaky, but still in pretty good shape despite how many years the place had on it. Most of all, it was his. His own domain. A place where he could finally _live_ and his father’s argumentative ass couldn’t reach him.

He sighed.

_I should probably call mom…_

Hinata grabbed his phone, intending to do what he just thought, but instead got distracted by a text.

 **Kenma :)** :

_Are you dead?_

 

 **Me** :

_Lol no why would i be dead. Y? should i be worried? <_< \- >_> _

 

 **Kenma :)** :

_Just wondering. You haven’t texted me in over a week and that’s weird considering you text me for even the smallest thing._

 

 **Kenma :)** :

_Like your towel for instance._

 

 **Me** :

_that towel had one of those freaky face stains how could i nt share that?? And sorry. im fine just busy y’know… trying to find work and all that_

 

 **Me** :

_Its haaaaaaard~_

 

 **Kenma :)** :

_Of course it’s hard._

 

 **Me** :

-_____-

 

 **Me** :

_Way to be motivational_

 

 **Kenma :)** :

_Well, you knew it was going to be hard. I’m sure you’ll find something. You’re ridiculously persistent._

 

 **Me** :

;3;

**Kenma :)** :

_Just make sure you don’t start selling drugs or anything._

 

 **Me** :

_Idk im pretty unpredictable_

 

 **Kenma :)** :

_I won’t hesitate to tell your mother._

 

 **Me** :

_Ok wow pls dont_

 

 **Kenma :)** :

_“Idk im pretty unpredictable”_

 

 **Me** :

_…………_

 

 **Kenma :)** :

_Okay, well, I just wanted to make sure you weren’t murdered. Don’t be so silent. I have to get to work, Kuroo is gonna kill me if I’m late again._

 

 **Me** :

_Thats the last thing he would do and u kno it_

 

 **Kenma :)** :

_Yeah I know. :)_

**Me** :

_Ooooooohohohooho an emoji~~~ !!!_

 

 **Kenma :)** :

_I’m deleting your number._

 

Hinata laughed and set his phone back down, knowing Kenma intended for the conversation to end there for now. He _had_ been a little too silent this past week, and he could see how that would be unusual. It scared him a little honestly. He hadn’t really noticed it… The last thing he wanted to do was grow apart from his friends back home. He knew moving would change things, sure, but he’d be damned if they drifted apart.

Hinata blinked his eyes and took a deep breath, getting out of the slight funk he’d been in earlier. He’d just have to start looking again. There _had_ to be a job out there for him. Thousands of people get jobs everyday. Hell, it wasn’t like he was even asking for a full benefits job with six weeks vacation time and an office with a view… Just something that would help him get by. He just needed funds for food, clothes, school things, and whatever necessities might pop up in the future.

The rent, on the other hand, wasn’t something he needed to worry about, unfortunately. Yes… _unfortunately_.  Eight months had been paid for in advance by his father, despite his protests. Hinata knew his dad just wanted him out of his house a.s.a.p., which, he didn’t mind in the least. He’d been dying to get out of there since the beginning of his highschool years and whoop dee doo his dream came true. He just wish he’d been able to do it all on his own.

Though, if he were being honest, and he usually was, he missed his mom and sister. They were the only reason he stayed so long after he graduated. The insufferable restrictions and arguments, amongst _other_ things was only tolerable because of them. Also, he knew leaving would make their lives a little less… dramatic? A little more peaceful? They’d denied as much anytime he mentioned it but he knew what he knew and so did they.

It all worked out in the end, anyhow. He got out. He still talks to his mom and sister, his old friends, without the guilt and anger looming over his head. He was happier, felt happier. Finally, he was able to do what he wanted without being made to feel wrong for it.

Though, like anyone else, he still wishes for things to have been different…

He even had to leave his nice little greenhouse behind… which was a real shame considering he’d spent a lot of time and effort in there… It’d been a little piece of his own world for years…

"Ugh..." he groaned and shook his head. He wasn't supposed to be thinking about this shit anymore.

Hinata got up and left those thoughts as he left this bed and entered his closet to get dressed. After a short debate and quick look at the temperature outside on his phone, he picked a pair of distressed jeans and a white t-shirt off his shelving and grabbed some socks out of his drawer.

He was officially back on the hunt for a job… fuck…

"I didn't even really want that one anyway…” Hinata muttered to himself as he put his shoes on, then his watch, "That one guy had a weird taste in neckties too. I mean, beer bottles? On a tie?" he justified to himself further actually feeling a little better now.

 _At least it wasn't a pattern of poorly drawn dicks_ , he laughed as he remembered his neighbors boxers.

It’d been about two months since he first met Kageyama and Hinata wondered as he walked out the door if he still had them. For a short moment, he stilled after he locked his door, thinking maybe he could go and get a rise out of him by asking. After a few seconds of considering the idea, he decided against it. He _really_ didn't feel like getting that monster head grip he was, unfortunately, all too used to already. It was still a little unbelievable that he wound up so assaulted by this guy after like, two seconds of knowing him. He'd even told Kenma about the incident and all he'd gotten in response was "I'm not surprised.".

It wasn’t that he minded people being informal with him right away (in fact he encouraged it) it was how Kageyama’s version of informal was very physical. Also vulgar. Like, the guy swore with every other breath it seemed. For some reason though, some _out there_ reason he couldn’t pin down, Hinata found himself enjoying it. Hanging out with Kageyama wasn’t boring, he’d say that much.

So, Hinata slowly walked down the stairs and onto the street, running to the other side after looking both ways.

 _Time to go find a job..._ **_hopefully_ ** _._

Damn it. Where was his usual peppy self when he needed him. Maybe he _should_ have gone and bothered Kageyama.

* * *

“Are you going to stand there all day and stare at the door like an idiot or are you going to do your job and help me load these boxes into this truck?” Tsukishima asked, rather calmly despite the look the threw Kageyama, and clicked his tongue when he didn’t get an answer right away.

“Hello? Earth to dimwit?”

No response.

Deciding not to waste his precious breath, Tsukishima walked over to a desk in the small loading bay, grabbed the huge rubber band ball he’d been working on for the past month, and chucked it at the back of Kageyama’s head.

“What the fuck?!” Kageyama doubled over at the contact, cradling the his head with both hands, “What the fuck is your problem, asshole?” He seethed, grabbing the ball and throwing it back at the offender, grinding his teeth when he caught it effortlessly.

“I’m not sure I know what you’re talking about.” Tsukishima glided over his anger, and walked back to where his task awaited, “But now that you’re amongst the living again, get these fucking boxes into this truck so we can move on. We’re already behind because you couldn’t seem to get yourself here on time.”

“Fuck you, I was on time.” Kageyama retorted, still rubbing his head and he walked over to the remaining boxes, “Just because I don’t get here ten minutes early like you do for some fucking reason doesn’t mean I’m late.”

“You think I care?”

“You just said I was lat-!”

“Sorry, I don’t recall.”

“You motherfu-”

“Is that yelling I hear over there?”

Both men turned at the sound of their supervisors voice, dropping whatever expressions they may have had in favor of ones portraying hardworking innocence.

“No, sir. I was just scolding him for not lifting properly.” Tsukishima lied easily, a smug grin on his face as he caught Kageyama’s furious look.

Their supervisor clicked his tongue and turned his attention on Kageyama, “We went over this… If you can’t lift properly, you’ll hurt yourself and we won’t be held responsible for any injuries you sustai-”

“I know!” Kageyama said a little too quickly, and with a little too much bite in his voice. “I know. I was just… uh, I got lost in the repetition, you know…”

“See that it doesn’t happen again.” the supervisor replied as he peeled his banana, that seemingly appeared from nowhere, (Kageyama swears the man keeps bananas in his suit pocket) and walked off with that… _stupid_ … fucking walk Kageyama hated. Any respect he had for his employers had quickly faded within his first week working there and it’d even come to him being annoyed by someone’s _walk_ …

 _Fucking, stupid walk…_ Kageyama thought as the man disappeared and immediately punched Tsukishima on the arm when he was gone.

“Shit-” The word passed from Tsukishima’s lips as he grabbed his arm on reflex.

“Are you trying to get me fired or something?” Kageyama hissed. He wouldn’t be surprised, actually, if he tried to pull that shit.

Tsuki glared at him in response, weaving his hands together in front of him as he turned to face him, “No, if I were trying to get you fired I would’ve told him that you were staring your ass off into space for a good half hour instead of working.” He adjusted his glasses, “But, being the gracious person I am, I decided to let you off with being reprimanded for a little white lie. You’re welcome.”

Kageyama didn’t respond. He couldn’t. There was no winning with him, there never was. In all the years he’d known Tsukishima, the man had been a master of having the last word and only got better with age. It fucking infuriated him but he and Yamaguchi were pretty much the only friends he had, and Yamaguchi wasn’t that bad so fucking, whatever. He could tolerate him. Though, he had _no_ earthly clue why he thought getting a job with the asshole was a good idea.

Well, he _hadn’t_ actually. Yamaguchi had said it would be a “bonding experience”, a “way to appreciate one another”. _Yeah fucking right,_ Kageyama sighed and went back to loading boxes into the awaiting truck. Yamaguchi had given him some good advice in the past, so he remembers why he’d agreed. Though he’d be damned if he did again.

“What’s got your head in the clouds more than usual anyway?” Tsuki questioned, admittedly a little curious.

Kageyama shrugged.

“Tell me or I’m going to sell your ass out.”

“Fine! Fucking… I don’t know… ” He struggled with the words because he really didn’t know how explain himself, “I just didn’t get that much sleep last night.” It wasn’t exactly a lie… it just wasn’t the whole truth. He hoped Tsukishima wouldn’t catch on.

No such luck. The man fixed him with a look that told him he wasn’t buying his bullshit and Kageyama cursed under his breath.

“It’s my fucking neighbor, okay?” He finally conceded, “I’m still trying to figure out why the hell he keeps bothering me. Happy now?”

“Bothering” was maybe too harsh a word. Kageyama usually _allowed_ said bothering, but it still didn’t clear up his confusion as to why Hinata kept on _wanting_ to hang out with him. He was an asshole? Wasn’t he? There were multiple people who would attest to that. Who would want to hang out with an asshole so much? How Yamaguchi and Tsukishima worked was _still_ a mystery to him, though Yamaguchi had his moments, so that only furthered his confusion…

“Tell him to fuck off if he’s bothering you so much.” Tsukishima replied bluntly.

“I can’t tell him to fuck off, you dick.”

“Why not? You’ve done it before.”

“Yeah, to _assholes_ , not fucking guys who have the sun coming out their asses.”

“ …Do I even- “

“Don’t ask.”

“Okay, if there’s no actual problem here then why the fuck did I have to load half these boxes by myself while you had your head up your-”

“Look, can we drop it?”

“Fine. Lunch is on you today then.”

“You bastard.”

The rest of the loading went by quickly and without another word. Tsukishima was pretty perceptive and could tell the conversation wasn’t going to go anywhere _particularly_ nice. He knew he was being dick and Kageyama was usually someone who could handle it, but he knew everyone had their limits. If he were being honest, he was somewhat curious about this neighbor Kageyama kept mentioning. Apparently, the sun shone out his ass and that must be a sight to see. Not that he was going to make any kind of effort to meet him. He would just let things play out and see what happens.

“Alright, get going. It’s supposed to be there in less than an hour.” He smacked Kageyama’s shoulder with a little more force than necessary, like usual, and he saw the man try to resist the urge to deck him in the face, also like usual.

Kageyama shrugged him off and jumped down the small loading dock, heading over to the driver’s side of the truck, “Why the fuck do I have to help you load if I’m the one who’s driving _and_ doing all the unloading?”

Tsuki replied, “Sorry. I don’t make the rules.” He turned and sat at the desk positioned further away from the dock, “Feel free to complain about it… unless you’d rather be stuck with Magic Banana man for the next four hours?”

Zipping his mouth shut, Kageyama hopped into the small delivery truck and took off toward his destination. It was _still_ complete bullshit but he’d rather do anything else in the world than be stuck with his supervisor all fucking day. Driving also gave him time to himself during work, so he didn’t mind it too much. Most people he delivered to helped him unload anyway. It wasn’t that bad when he thought about it… He never had to go too far either… The pay was decent, despite him not being able to keep his entire check… Okay, he was beginning to remember why he stuck with this job.

He’d probably be killed if he quit anyway, so really there was no point entertaining the idea.

Kageyama rolled his neck and stretched his back out a bit while he was at a red light. It was nine in the morning so the sun was still rising in the sky, painting the city a light blue. There weren’t many cars about, most people were already at work, and it gave him a nice, calm feeling.

He was actually beginning to feel _pretty damn_ peaceful until he heard his phone buzzing on the seat next to him and saw that his mother was calling.

“Shit.”

* * *

Two piercings, a potted plant, and the _almost-getting_ of another tattoo later, Hinata found himself with a cool ass job. Or, at least the promises of one.

For the record, Hinata already _had_ a tattoo and in total five piercings on his ears (not including his newest additions) so, he wasn’t getting in over his head when he went and got more. His first tattoo, actually, had been on his nineteenth birthday- almost a year ago. A couple of his friends, after hearing him talk about how cool he thought they were and whine about how much he wanted one, somehow pulled a miracle and enabled him to get his first tattoo. He didn’t ask specifics (it wasn’t exactly legal) and that day in particular had been shitty, so he felt like rebelling against his parents, his father namely, in anyway he could. Petty, he knew, but didn’t really care. He doesn’t regret it anyway. He might’ve, if he’d gotten caught, but he it turns out he was sneakier than he thought.

Though, he was _pretty_ sure his mom caught a glimpse of it once but she never said anything so… he felt it was better to leave the subject untouched. As long as his dad never found out, it was fine. Which he didn’t so, ha ha.

As for how he got the promise of a job, it was honestly pure luck. Hinata had just decided to start running, get a light jog into his day y’know, but then his favorite song came on and he got a little too hyped. So much so, that by the time the four minutes and ten seconds were over, he found himself in a part of town he hadn’t been to yet.

The area was a little more rough and lived in, unlike the newer parts of the city where everything was still shiny and pristine. While it made him a little uneasy at first, the cool street artists and dancers, along with the building walls that were covered in paintings soon changed that. It was beautiful, to say the least, and Hinata could honestly say that was the happiest he’d been about his move from home. Forced or not, he was glad for it in that moment.

After about an hour of exploring this new part of town, having already forgotten he was supposed to be job hunting, he came across this odd looking building. The brick was painted white, but all over it were illustrations of the most random things. Some of it was calligraphy, some of it was paintings or graffiti… it looked very… customized? Definitely family owned or something. Regardless, he’d never seen anything like it.

The sign that sat just atop of the awning over the entrance spelled out “PAINTED NATURE.” It was a neon sign, with an orange hue to it and while he thought it looked nice, he was still clueless as to what kind of… store?? or cafe… ?? the place was.

He weighed his options. The place itself would’ve been intimidating if it weren’t for the elaborate arrangement of various flowers and plants sitting in front it’s the windows. Not to mention there was also a lonely little bird feeder sat next to them- it was _very_ cute. Next, he looked at the door which had an open sign with a _hand drawn_ emoji on it… it was blowing kisses… and next to it was the devil emoji… _also_ hand drawn…

 _It can’t be that bad right?_ Hinata thought to himself, a little more than curious about the plants.  That yearning for his old garden was back.

 _Are they for sale…?_ His apartment could stand to be livened up somewhat.

Hinata was about two seconds away from entering when someone suddenly came fumbling out, a trash bag in hand and griping about something.

“Hey! What did I say about taking the trash out through the front?! It’s unprofessional!” He heard someone from inside yell.

“Yeah! I heard you! This way’s faster though and there ain’t nobody out here anyway!” the man countered, intentionally ignoring Hinata to make his lie seem true. Not that Hinata would care where someone took the trash out anyway.

“Just make sure the cat didn’t follow you out! The manager would kill us if…” The voice trailed off and was silent for about two seconds until they both heard a shout, “Shit, the cat!”

Almost immediately, a white cat, pretty large in size, like… _really_ large, bolted out the door and bumped straight into Hinata’s legs. Hinata, on instinct, dived for the cat as it dashed a few feet away. Much to his surprise, he actually caught the animal, impressing even _himself_ with his reaction time, if he were being honest.

 _Maybe I can test Kageyama’s later… Nah, he probably wouldn’t even believe me if I told him this, the skeptical bastard…_ his competitive side immediately mused.

“The cat, the cat!” A man with silvery hair left the building this time. Eyes wide and panicked, he immediately turned to the guy holding the garbage bag, “Where’d the damn cat go?!”

“Dude caught it.” He replied quickly and pointed toward Hinata, who was in the awkward position of his ass in the air as he held onto the cat’s torso. “I told you havin’ that fuckin’ cat loose all over the place was a shit idea…”

The other man sighed and ran a hand through his hair, placing it on his hip afterward, “Don’t come to _me_ with that. Take that up with the owner. It’s his cat.” a sigh, “I don’t see why he can’t put it in an animal hotel while he’s gone like a normal person.”

“He’s fuckin’ cheap that’s why. Get his wife to change his mind next time. Seems like she got more sense than him.” The garbage guy spat and swiveled around to return to his duty of taking the trash out.

The silvery man took another moment to himself, reeling his frustration in, and then let loose a warm grin for Hinata, who had gotten into a less compromising position while they were talking.

“I’m sorry about all this.” He apologized and walked over toward Hinata, “Really, I am but I gotta say thanks. All of our asses would’ve been done for if anything happened to this cat.” He reached down and took the animal from Hinata’s arms, tucking it next to his waist, “I’m Suga, by the way. The guy with the sailor mouth is Tanaka, and this,” he looked down at the grumbling cat in his arms, “is Bootsie…”

“Um… nice to meet you?” Hinata, friendly as he was, was feeling a little dumbfounded. Which was odd, considering he’d met Kageyama in a similar way but felt no nervousness. Maybe it was because he could tell this guy was older than him? He stood up then, getting a better look at Suga and yeah, he was definitely older.  “And it’s no problem.” Hinata quickly added, “I just caught him on instinct y’know.”

Suga nodded, and turned to reenter the shop, motioning with his head for Hinata to follow, “So, were you planning to come in or were you passing by?”

“I was coming in.” Hinata replied as they walked through the doors, “I saw the plants and got curious…”

His voice trailed off as he took the interior of the building in. _So cool…_ he thought, marveling at the place.

Inside was a nice size, high ceilings,  a lot of room, but still cozy somehow. The walls were exposed brick, not white like the outside but a combination of different red/brown colors. The floors were a polished concrete, dark and… shiny? Glittery… almost. There were plants everywhere… like, _everywhere_. Every surface you couldimagine had a different type of plant or flower on it. It made him happy.

Hinata looked to the other side of the shop and noticed that the place was basically split in two, separated by a decorated glass wall with an opening in the middle, a doorway of sorts, only no door. One half of the shop looked like a garden store and the other…

“Holy shit is this a tattoo shop?” Hinata blurted when he saw the numerous artworks hanging on the walls and blatant neon sign that read “TATTOOS”.

“If I had a dollar for every time I heard that… it’d probably all go back to the owner.” Suga laughed in reply and went to return Bootsie to the back room.

“Holy shit!” Hinata exclaimed again, very excited at this revelation, “But you also sell plants and stuff??” He pointed to the left side of the shop where flowers and gardening supplies rested.

Fingering at his waist apron, Suga walked back to Hinata’s spot, replying, “Yes, we do also sell plants and stuff. Not common, I know, but it works pretty well I think. Anyway, I’m being rude! You’re a customer, right? For helping with that cat I’m _very_ inclined to give you half off whatever you’re getting.” he stopped to laugh, a bit dryly, “Hell, it should probably be free… Did I mention you legitimately saved our as-”

“Can you hire me?” Hinata cut in, not letting Suga finish. The look on the man’s face had him rushing to explain, “I mean, yeah I’m gonna buy something but are you hiring? Is there an application or something I can fill out? I _swear_ I’ll buy something- I was actually planning to but this place is so cool. I’m not a tattoo artist or anything but I have some experience working with plants! Well- I’ve owned a lot and took care of them and that’s about it but I learn really fast and I swear on my life I’m gonna buy somethin-”

A pair of hands on his shoulders stopped him short, “Okay, slow it down for a second…” Suga tried to calm him, feeling somewhat winded himself by the whirlwind of words Hinata just spewed out, “I don’t think you even took a breath there…”

“Shit, sorry. I just, sorry…” _I just_ **_really_ ** _need a damn job…_  

Suga removed his hands and grinned down at him, this kid was turning out to be very cute. _All this just had to happen on Daichi’s day off…_ “You’re fine, no need to apologize. You don’t even have to worry about buying anything. We get curious window shoppers all the time.”

As he spoke, two ladies walked in through a second entrance Hinata hadn’t even known was there and started looking through the various plants and gardening supplies.

“Tanak-! Oh.” Suga shouted for the other worker who just trudged back inside.

“You ain’t gotta yell I can hear you.”

“Take care of them will you? I’m still busy.” He gestured to Hinata.

Tanaka spared the boy a glance , more curious than anything, then turned his attention back to Suga, “I don’t do that side. You know I don’t know anythin’ about all those plants and sh-”

“Oh _please_ ,” Suga interrupted, “Daichi drilled everything you should know into your head the first week you started here. You know enough to help them out.” He took the man by the shoulders and swiveled him around, “Now, go.”

With a shove and a warm, supportive smile, Suga gave Tanaka a small push and pretended not to hear whatever he was mumbling under his breath.

He took a moment to make sure Tanaka was civil with the customers, they were both pretty girls so he didn’t suspect anything else, but it was habit. After he considered them taken care of he turned back to the orange haired teen… wait, was he a teen? “How old are you by the way?” he questioned, trying to remedy the almost nothing he know about this guy.

“Nineteen. Twenty this summer.”

“Holy shit-” Suga clapped a hand over his mouth. He really needed to work on his vocabulary at work. Not that he was explicitly vulgar but still, he considered it unprofessional. “I thought you were around seventeen, sorry.”

Hinata sighed, “It’s my height, I know.” While he wished people would stop assuming his age because of hs height, it was understandable… he guessed. Though, he wasn’t even _that_ short. He was taller than most girls, even if it was only by a small amount… Apparently, he was just short for guys’ standards.

Suga stepped back for a moment, looking at Hinata with this new information, and said, “Hm, yeah… I can see it now… and I’m not just saying that to make you feel better.” Honestly, he did. Hinata was short, just a fact, but he did look more… matured than a seventeen year old. “So, you said you wanted a job?”

Back to the original point at hand, Hinata straightened up, “Yeah, I mean, it probably wasn’t right for me to just go and ask if you could hire me, sorry.” he apologized with a small cough and a scratch of his head, “I’ve just been looking for a job since I moved here and well…”

“You’re not from around here?” Suga asks.

“Uh, well, not _here_ , here.” he emphasizes, “I’m new to this area, though. My old house is like, an hour away.”

Suga nods with a hum, “Well, you’re in luck.” he replies and grins at the way he can visibly see Hinata’s whole body perk up. “We just had a part timer quit on us about a week ago actually. I won’t go into specifics there but we definitely need more help.”

Hinata stayed quiet, feeling his nerves on edge as he watched Suga mull something over.  

 _Please, please, please, please… God, I_ **_swear_ ** _I’ll start praying immediately if you can help me land a job. I’ll even start studying like I’m supposed to, please._

“Okay,” Suga began again after a few short moments of considering something, bringing Hinata out of his thoughts, “how about you come back in a few days. There’s no application or anything you need to fill out, the owner, who’s on a trip at the moment, quote, “doesn’t believe in them”. I’ll just ask you a few questions and we’ll go from there. Sound good? Oh and unless you know how to pen tattoos, you’ll be working with the garden.” Suga chuckled a little, remembering what Hinata said about owning plants earlier, “Though I think that’s what you wanted in the first place, no?”

Hinata nodded his head firmly, a grin plastered on his face. He bowed, nice and deep, thanking this kind man for being so generous. After numerous counts of rejection from stuffy assholes with terrible neck ties, this was a really nice feeling. These people, the two employees that he’d met so far, seem nice enough, nicer than he could expect- even if that other guy seemed a little intimidating.

Suga fulfilled his promise of a few questions. They were mostly about what his availability was, what he actually knew about caring for plant life, and how comfortable he felt working with others. He thought himself to be a very personable guy, so working with new people wasn’t a problem. He also gave Suga a run down of his old garden when asked about what he knew about plant life in general. He was no expert but he knew more than your average person, he guessed. Though, talking about his not-so-his-anymore garden was stirring up some feelings in his chest so he tried to keep it short.

After an exchange of numbers so Suga could contact him, a few minutes perusing the different flowers, and two new piercings he decided to get impulsively, Hinata went merrily on his way. He tried to argue that he should pay for everything, that catching a cat was in no way equal to the monetary value of what he was getting, but he was shot down quickly and smoothly. Though somehow he’d managed to slap some money on the counter without being caught and made sure to tell Tanaka that it was from him while Suga went to check on the whiny Bootsie.

Tanaka had just laughed, very heartily, in response and something in the look he gave him told him his plan wasn’t gonna work out. Whatever. He’d save that worry for another day. There was no way his conscious would let him sleep at night if he didn’t pay for at least one thing.

Hinata parted from the shop and, his two new acquaintances, after some short goodbyes, promising to keep an ear out for Suga’s phone call or text. When he turned around, unable to keep himself from looking back, he saw Tanaka laughing his head off at something while Suga grinned and hit him on the shoulder…

_Hm… yeah they seem like cool people._

It was now three in the afternoon, and the rest of his day was completely free of worries, he realized. This new information had him grinning a little mischievously to himself. Maybe he could finally redeem his honor and challenge Kageyama to another extra spicy ramen dinner that he botched so badly last time. (Unsurprisingly, he’d forgotten about his promise to God about studying like he was supposed to.)

“He probably won’t go for it though…” He murmured aloud to himself as he trekked home, remembering the look on Kageyama’s face the next day had been downright _murderous_. Hinata considered it for another moment and decided what the hell, “Not like he can kill me or anything for asking.”

Despite having gotten lost earlier, he made his way back to his apartment pretty easily. He hadn’t gone as far as he thought. One familiar sight and he was good to go. It was a relief knowing that distance wouldn’t be a problem if he got the job. It would probably be a good idea to go back home and grab his old bike…

_Or it could be disastrous, dumbass…_

He’d save that decision for later.

After picking up some regular and spicy ramen, he was _definitely_ going to eat it all this time, Hinata finally made it home. He set the store bags on his kitchen counter and went to place his new friends, the plants, on the windowsill in his small living room. He’d find a better place for them later after he’d put some thought into it.

Once Hinata set them down, he took a step back and admired them for a moment. _The place is started to feel better already~_ he thought cheerfully and practically skipped back to his kitchen to put his non-ramen food away. After he finished with that, he went and knocked on Kageyama’s door to see if he was home yet. No answer. Either Kageyama was being his typical self and not wanting to answer the door, or he actually wasn’t home…

Hinata shrugged and decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. He _would_ just text him but he still hadn’t gotten his number… _Huh, I should probably ask him for it._ He considered them friends enough, even if Kageyama was an asshole to him. Hinata could tell he wasn’t _actually_ a bad person or anything, just awkward maybe? He’s seen how respectful and caring he was toward the old landlady. It’d been pretty cute, if he were being honest. Big and tall Kageyama helping the little old landlady who’d been half his size with her groceries…

 _Haha… yeah…_ Hinata shook his head and decided _not_ to go down that rabbit hole.

Instead, he’d go inside and study. Yep. He should probably do that. And probably get Kageyama’s number when he got back. But mostly challenge his ass because he was not letting him have a victory over his head.

_Yeah…_

* * *

“-don’t know what to say… I’m disappointed…” a sigh was heard over the phone call,  “Here I thought you’d take after me and not… Haa… Both so ungrateful. Are you going to tell me why it was so short this month? You’re holding out on me, aren’t you?”

“I’m not-” Kageyama huffed, “I’m not holding out on _anything_. I have to live too, you know.” he tried, though he knew those words would only make her angry.

“ _You_ ? What about _me_ ? What about the person who raised your ass? By _herself_ ?” her voice was gradually getting louder. He knew he shouldn’t have waited all day to call her back… “Are we going to do this again? For the _millionth_ time? I swear the next time I see y-”

He hung up. He wasn’t about to fucking listen to that _again_. She’d calm down eventually. When he saw her next she’d be back to her indifferent self. Her indifferent fucking self.

When his phone started to vibrate again he declined the call, putting his phone on silent as he walked home. The day was mostly over. It was early evening now and he’d just gotten off of work. Her first call had been at around nine in the morning and by the end of his work day he had twenty missed calls.

 _Ahh… I should’ve called her on my break… fuck…_ Kageyama thought and came to a stop at the street crossing, breathing out into the breezy evening air. He shook his head a few times, as if the action would actually clear his mind. Fuck it. He was going to see her later that week, he’d save the worries for then.

Trying not to spare her another thought, he made it home pretty quickly. Though in result of him trying so hard, he forgot to remind himself he needed to pick some food up on the way home. His fridge was painfully empty, as was his small pantry; rice was probably the only thing he had. He’s told himself he needed to stop waiting until he had no food to go shopping but his stupid ass wouldn’t listen.

Kageyama sighed as he finally arrived home and tossed his keys onto the coffee table while he dived headfirst onto his couch. Getting something delivered was always an option… but nah, he could never bring himself to spring for the delivery fee _and_ a tip. Not that he minded tipping delivery people, he just _really_ couldn’t spare anything. But, he was starving and having to pay for Tsukishima’s lunch earlier left him unable to get a meal himself. He played it off like he wasn’t hungry, but whatever money he had left was supposed to go to the groceries he didn’t fucking buy.

He groaned and settled into the couch further while he debated with himself, toeing off his shoes. _I get paid tomorrow… I could get delivery this once… or_ _I could just go to sleep… that sounds nice… don’t have to worry about food when I’m unconscious…_ Sleep, though, he knew would bring dreams he didn’t feel like having- especially with that phone call still so fresh in his mind. Who the fuck thought dreaming was a good idea. Really, who?

Just as Kageyama was getting mentally prepared to fight the person responsible for dreams, he heard a knock on his door. He knew who it was immediately. No one would be knocking on his door right now except Hinata. Or maybe the landlady but she was probably settling down for the night already.

 _I should probably check up on her tomorrow…_ he mused as he got up to answer the door. The landlady was always happy to see him, despite how terrible he thought he was with old people, or people in general. She was nice. Like the grandma he never had… or something.

Hinata on the other hand… Kageyama still didn’t really know what to think. This guy just _popped_ into existence and started talking to him. He guessed that’s how making friends normally worked. You just… start talking to each other? Kageyama still found him a little annoying- well, more tiring than annoying. Hanging out with him and seeing how upbeat he was _all_ the time made him feel like he had the energy of a ninety year old man. Though, Kageyama would be lying if he sad he didn’t enjoy his company at _least_ a little. He’d **_die_ ** before he told Hinata that but yeah…

“What do you want?” he asked after opening the door to reveal his neighbor, who was standing there holding two white plastic bags.

“Sup’ Kageyama?” Hinata smiled, appearing casual. In actuality, the moment he heard his neighbor’s door slam shut, he grabbed up the ramen and drinks at an alarming speed (even for him) and bolted out his door. He even forgot his shoes. What could he say? Studying had gotten boring _real_ fast and his day had ended up very uneventful.

Hinata was about to say something else when he noticed Kageyama intently eyeing his grocery bags, “What are you-”

“Is that food?” Kageyama asked, looking back up at him.

“Uh… yeah?” Hinata brought one of the bags up, “I was-”

“Come in.”

“Wha-”

“Come in.” Kageyama said again and turned around, walking back into his apartment. “Hurry up I’m starving.”

“Okay…” Hinata trailed off and entered after him, “Why do I feel like you’re luring me in here to kill me?”

“ _You’re_ the one who came here.” Kageyama reminded him when he heard the door click shut. “And if I wanted to kill you I wouldn’t do it in my own home.” He walked into this kitchen, switching the lights on and grabbed a kettle out of his cabinet, “Is it ramen? I’m assuming it’s ramen.”

“Yeah and _that_ doesn’t sound at all suspicious…” Hinata followed and set the goods on the counter, “ Also how did you know…” he replied with a frown, turning to face Kageyama who was about to start boiling water. Being easily read never failed to tick him off a little. “I was gonna challenge you to another spicy ramen duel- let me finish,” he added when Kageyama made a face, “but I also got some regular ramen in case you weren’t up for it. I know it messed up your stomach last time… I even felt bad for your toilet-” he laughed and dodged an incoming elbow to his abdomen, “So?” Hinata grabbed and held up the two options, “Another round of spicy terror or classic ramen?”  

Kageyama studied the two bowls for a moment, then turned his attention to Hinata who was eagerly waiting for him to decide. Those doe-eyes, impossibly fucking doe-eyed for someone about to be twenty, stared at him with expectation. Hinata wanted the spicy ramen duel but there was no way Kageyama was going to abuse his stomach like that again, competition be damned. Another thing he looked at, in this oddly stretched out moment, was his hair. His goddamn orange hair, like always, was pulled back by a hair tie, yet somehow it still looked messy as all hell. Also really fluffy. Freakishly fluffy.

Before he could be pulled into more stupidly ineloquent thoughts about Hinata’s hair, the person himself pulled him back to reality.

“Uh… hello?” a small hand, _damn his hands are really small_ , waved around in his face, “Anyone home?”

“Stop that.” Kageyama sighed, “It’s been a long day.” Not a lie, just not the whole truth. He was getting good at that. “I don’t know about you but I’m not looking to fuck up my stomach tonight.”

“Fine…” Hinata huffed and put the spicy ramen back into his bag before pointing a finger at Kageyama, “But you owe me another shot at that duel.”

“Whatever.”

The evening went on, long and pretty uneventful. Except for the fact that Hinata made himself laugh so hard at his own joke he started to choke on his noodles. Kageyama was fully prepared to do the heimlich maneuver, probably incorrectly, but Hinata managed to recover without it.

“Don’t fucking die in my house everyone’ll think I murdered you.” he’d said.

“I can’t control where I die you dick! I can’t believe _that’s_ what you say after I almost get taken out. How about “Oh man, are you okay?” or something?!” Hinata had replied.

Other than that, things went by fairly smoothly. Hinata tried to be more careful with his food and Kageyama tried to be a little more tactful. It didn’t work. His quips around Hinata just came too fast and too easy to control. The reactions he got were amusing anyway so really, he didn’t put much effort into stopping.

Normally he would be beyond pissy and not in the mood for the _slightest_ bit of _anything_ after a phone call with his mother, but today, it seemed, was an exception. He was actually grateful for someone else's presence. Hinata’s talkative, annoying, yet somehow grossly endearing presence.

His dreams that night, which he fully expected to be awful, were blissfully blank.

He pegged it all down to the ramen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i see your flower shop and tattoo shop au's and raise you this monstrosity. idk if a place like that actually exists lmao but i'd go there so ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ also, here comes plot. families can be hard. 
> 
> Also also... everyone... is gay.... .. or bi or pan whatever you want :') if i don't specify feel free to fill it in however you like~
> 
> some visuals for u ~  
> the floral/plant arrangement outside the shop  
> http://firstcomeflowers.typepad.com/.a/6a012877361374970c01538e668353970b-pi
> 
> the decorative glass wall  
> http://img.archiexpo.com/images_ae/photo-g/56585-6563963.jpg


	5. Guilt's A Bitch And Things In General Are Confusing

Kageyama woke to the awful sound of his ringtone blaring directly into his ear. He jolted not so gently out of his blissful and dreamless sleep, which, with him not being a morning person, at _all_ , guaranteed him an extra pissy attitude as soon as he opened his eyes. Groaning, he let it ring a few more times, then shoved it away on impulse, cursing when he heard it hit the floor.

“Fucking- Goddammit fuck.” he swore, his voice still thick with sleep. Kageyama threw the covers off his body and shivered at the sudden rush of cold air as his hands took to feeling the floor up to find his phone. The room was still dark, which meant it was probably too early for him to be getting up and most _definitely_ too fucking early for someone to be calling him.

Usually, Kageyama would just ignore it, but with the slight chance that it could be his mother calling him, _again_ , he couldn’t leave it alone. Years of experience taught him it was better to _not_ miss the call. Take it, let her spill her shit. Experience _also_ taught Kageyama that hanging up on her like he did last night was a shitstorm waiting to happen but, he was never a good student.

When the ringing stopped, his heart sped up as did his hands. He took to searching underneath the bed and finally, he found his phone. A few beats passed and he sat back on his legs, waking his phone up to see who the missed call had been from. 

Relief flooded his body but he still felt somewhat shaky.

“What the fuck does he want…” Kageyama mumbled and he cringed at how pathetically unsteady his voice sounded.

The call had been from Tsukishima. The bastard.

Sure enough, just as he was about to hit the call back button, his phone started ringing again. He let it ring a few times, out of spite, but answered when he knew it would go to voicemail.

“Why the fuck are you calling me so early?” Kageyama asked none too politely, “It’s what?” he checked the time, “fucking _six_ in the morning? What could you possibly want from me this early?”

“Uhh... sorry... I was gonna ask if you wanted to have lunch with us later...” Kageyama heard a sigh over the line, “I should’ve known Tsukki lied about you being up this early, sorry Kageyama. Go back to sleep. I’ll kick his ass for you.”

“Yamaguchi?” Kageyama lurched upright, confused, “What the fu-” he coughed, for some reason cursing when talking to Yamaguchi never seem like a good thing to do, “Why are you calling from Tsukishima’s phone? And this early...?”

Yamaguchi sighed again, “You know me and my early runs. Tsukki decided to join me today and I’m calling from his phone ‘cause mine died. Forgot to charge it.”

“Okay…”

“Well, we were just talking and I realized we haven’t gotten together in a while so I thought to ask if you wanted to meet up later.” Kageyama heard the phone shift, “ _Tsukki_ told me you were probably already awake, that you had a new morning routine or something, so I called. But dude, sorry for waking you up. I know it’s your day off. Like I said, I’ll kick his ass for you when he walks out of the store. ”

“No, you’re…” Kageyama tried to level his voice- he was still feeling the shakiness from thinking it was his mother calling, “you’re fine. I wasn’t- I can always just go back to sleep.”

A few seconds passed and Yamaguchi replied, “You sound weird. Is something wrong?”

“Damn it-” he cursed and slumped back onto his bed, “don’t do that observant thing right now it’s too early for me to try and fake being fine. Which I _am_ ,” he quickly corrected, ugh his mouth really wasn't connected to his brain yet, “the phone call just… spooked me.”

“Are you _sure_?” Kageyama could sense his eyes squinting.

“If I said yes would you believe me?” he sighed. Yamaguchi had always been too observant for his preferred level of privacy. Growing up with him had been a pain in the ass when he wanted to keep something secret. Even if Yamaguchi had been right to call him out on things here and there, it didn't mean he had to like it. Appreciate it, sure. Like it? Hell no.

“Probably not. ...Was it your mom again? Do you want to talk about it?”

“I never wanna talk about it.” he scoffed.

“So it _was_ your mom… Is she still…?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah…”

“Okay, I get it.” he paused for a moment and decided against asking anything more. At least for the time being. “So, did you want to meet up later or are you going to sleep all day? No, forget that, you’re coming with us. We’ll be at your place by one.”

“I don’t get a say?”

“Not if you still want me to kick Tsukki’s ass for waking you up. Oh- here he comes now.”

“Give him one in the shin.”

“Will do. See you later.”

Kageyama let himself laugh when the call ended.

_Okay, time to get three more hours in._

Knowing that Tsukki was getting a beating just then made him content enough to fall right back asleep.

* * *

“Really, holy shit thank you.” Sugawara’s client beamed up at him, expressing his gratitude for the fifth time, “This turned out a hell of a lot better than I thought it would. My girlfriend’s gonna love it.”

“I... don’t doubt it.” Suga lied through a smile, “I’m just glad I could do the photo justice. Now,” he clapped his hands together, “do I need to get you to read those aftercare instructions back to me or are you going to remember to check it later?”

“Oh believe me, I’ll remember.” the client held up the care pamphlet and bag, “My girlfriend won’t let me forget.”

“Good, good. As always, it was a pleasure.” Suga reiterated as they started walking toward the entrance, “You know where I’ll be if you need anything else.”

After a few more instances of the man needing to express his thanks, Suga saw his first client of the day off.

It’d been a five hour session. A _five hour_ session. He was ready to collapse. Usually he never went for sessions going over three hours, that was a personal rule of his, but this was a favor to the owner, who was _still_ out of town, and who the fuck says no to their boss? He should’ve, he _really_ should’ve.

“I’m about to die.” he groaned and leaned against the reception counter.

Shimizu gave him a sympathetic smile from her seat, “You did a good job.”

“Yo-ho!” Tanaka came barreling out of the workroom hall, having just finished up with his own client, and slapped a hand on Suga’s shoulder as he was about to reply to Shimizu, “Dude good job on that five hour. Me and Noya took bets on whether you’d pass out in the middle of- Shit! Okay, fuck, you don’t gotta hit me.”

“Like I’d pass out.” Suga dismissed, “You all would fall to pieces the second I did.”

“Yeah yeah. You’re “the glue that blah blah whatever” Ow.” Tanaka rubbed his arm where he was hit again and let the teasing mood slide for a moment when he asked, “You’re good though, yeah? Five hours is a fuckin’ long ass time.”

Rolling his neck Suga assured, “Yeah, I’m fine. Just tired. I don’t know how I used to pull these off all the time.”

“Bro me either.” Tanaka shook his head, “Anyway, Daichi told me to check on you. He’s still in with that dude. Won’t be out for another hour. He paid me off to get you out of here for lunch though.”

“Of course he did,” Suga wanted to curse at the butterflies plaguing his stomach, “but no, thanks. I can’t. I still have to clean my room up and then get Noya that portfolio for his next-”

“No way in hell you’re saying no to this. I’m not about to suffer the “Daichi Look” for not getting you out of here.”

“I’ll put together that portfolio, Koushi. Go take a break.” Shimizu spoke up from her spot at the counter, “I’ll keep everything in line.”

Tanaka and Suga stared for a few too many moments when Tanaka cried, “Why don’t you ever do that for m-”

“Thank you, Shimizu.” he cut Tanaka off with a hand covering his mouth, “We won’t be long and I’m bringing you a coffee back as thanks. The usual?”

She laughed and Suga felt Tanaka start to go limp, “That’s fine. Now go.”

After they shoved on their coats, it was an oddly chilly day for spring, they made it out onto the bustling street. It was twelve in the afternoon so the lunch crowd was busy trying to find a place to get warm, grab a bite, then head back to work, as they were. His session had started at an ungodly hour so Suga hadn’t exactly had time to eat breakfast. Of course, Daichi had seen right through him when he asked about it. And _of course_ , the man had taken steps to make sure he didn’t miss lunch.

The thought of Daichi worrying about him made him feel warm but somehow nauseous at the same damn time.

_Let’s not go there…_ he stopped that train of thought short and went back to work related things.

As much as he hated to admit it, Suga was somewhat of a workaholic. He preferred to get things done before he worried about himself, which wasn’t healthy he knew, but it felt a lot better when he was relaxing without having to worry about getting things done later. It wasn’t a great excuse but it was how he functioned. The only thing making being out at the moment bearable was knowing he didn’t have to worry about that portfolio. He could clean his workroom up in fifteen minutes, tops, so that wasn’t a big deal. Besides, he already sterilized all his equipment…

Okay, yeah. He could afford to relax.

“But man I seriously don’t get why people want other people’s faces tattooed on them. That shit’s real creepy.” Suga let Tanaka drag him out of his thoughts and back into the conversation as they entered a cafe, “I mean I ain’t judgin’ and I’ll tattoo anything but I don’t get the portrait thing.”

Suga shrugged and replied, “Me either but it was his skin to do with as he pleased.” he stopped to order a tofu dish that he loves a little too much, and continued after they were done paying, “Takes care of the bills one way or the other.”

Tanaka gave a hearty laugh at that and followed Suga to the window bar, “I’d tattoo a damn booger on a man if it meant I got to eat.”

He made a face.

“What?” Tanaka took a gulp of his drink.

“You’re so gross.”

“And _you’re_ finally starting to relax.” he grinned to himself like he was proud of a job well done and pulled his phone out, “Tellin’ Daichi my mission's accomplished before he can get suspect anything.”

Suga felt his ears go red and was thankful he hadn’t gotten that haircut yet.

This was bad.

Very bad…

But he couldn’t stop the stupid smile forming on his face as he took a sip of his drink.

_Very, very bad…_

* * *

When Hinata got to spend time with a friend from back home, he considered it a very good day. With his move inside the city and being farther away from them than he’d like, it wasn’t often that he got to see them physically and hang around like they used to. Still, he tried not to feel bittersweet about it... which failed badly, every time.

“Are you gonna stare at me like I have three weeks to live or are you going to drink your coffee?” Yachi, his saving grace of a friend, scolded him, “Honestly, every time we meet you act like you’re seeing me for the last time.”

“But-”

“No, no “but”s. You’re going to act normal, possibly choke on your coffee from drinking it too fast, and smile normally.” She gave him a pointed look, “I mean it. I’m catching the next bus out if this is going to turn into one of your apology fests.”

Hinata slumped back into his chair and mumbled, “I can’t help it if I feel bad.”

“I know you can’t,” Yachi sighed, “and I understand but come on-” she gave him a tap on his arm, “Please try to relax. I know I just said I would leave but I’m not going anywhere. Drink your coffee and tell me all about what’s been going on with you. You’re making sure to eat right, aren’t you?”

Hinata tried to put forth a physical effort to calm the guilt trapped inside his chest, for her sake more than anything, and replied, “Yes mom- Ow! _Yes_ , I’m eating right.” He frowned at her when she retracted her hand.

“Hm,” Yachi gave him a once over, “you don’t look like you’ve lost any weight. In fact,” she squeezed his bicep, “have you gained some? You look...” her arms came out in front of her as she flexed to try and demonstrate, “more, you know? Beefy.”

“Beefy?”

“Muscular!” She corrected. “The word slipped my mind. You’re not overdoing it are you? You’re pacing yourself? You’ve always had a habit of going overboard. ”

Hinata gave into a laugh, “And I’m the one who needs to relax? You worry too much Yachan. I’m fine, everything’s fine. I eat, I have a roof, I’m still waiting to hear from that job I told you about but it’s only been a day so I’m still optimistic. School starts in a few months...” he muttered that last bit and took another sip of his coffee. It was sickeningly sweet but it’s the only way he liked it.

“Okay, good.” The girl seemed satisfied for the most part. “It’s good to know you didn’t completely crumble without me down here. Though I bet your laundry is a toxic hellhole.” she quipped lightheartedly.

“It’s not that bad.” he frowned but she remained unconvinced.

“ _Sure_ it isn’t.” Yachi didn’t hide the sarcasm in her voice. “And did you get _another_ piercing?”

They lulled into small talk from there, reminiscing a little, but Hinata had something on his mind. He didn’t want to open this line of conversation, not really, he wanted to keep their rare visits with each other light and fun and _not_ talk about the problems his mind seemed to _always_ come back to, but he had to ask.

“So, uh,” Hinata started, pulling on his earlobe, then laying that hand on the back of his neck- with that Yachi already knew what he was going to ask, “how is… how are…”

“How’s your family doing?” Yachi mercifully finished for him and sighed, “Hinata, why is that so hard to ask?”

“You know why.” he argued.  

She hesitated a moment before replying, “Okay fair enough, but it’s just a question Hinata. Anyone would be curious about their family.” she stopped to take a sip of her iced tea, “And I know you worry about your mom and sister.”

When he didn’t say anything she continued, “They’re fine. The usual, though I know that’s not exactly comforting.” Her face fell as she went on, “Your sister told me…She told me _not_ to tell you actually... and she’ll probably kill me when I get back but, they fought again. She heard your name…” Yachi looked up and inwardly winced at Hinata's expression, “It ended fine. It was just a short yelling match but… I thought you should know.”

Hinata felt his body sag as he turned away from his friend and place his head in his hands, resting it there.  

“Figures.” he said simply. He was beginning to be disillusioned with his hope of things getting better for them now that he was gone. 

“Yeah…” she started rubbing his shoulder, an attempt at comfort, “I’m sorry.” While she _could_ say things like “it’ll be okay” and “don’t worry” she knew better... She’d seen the way his parents functioned, the way his dad acted; there wasn’t room for change with that man.

“Sorry Yachan,” Hinata raised his head out of his hands and faked a smile, “I didn’t mean to… y’know. It's fine, really. Let’s just drop i-”

“Don’t apologize.” she cut him off, voice stern and brows furrowed, “And don't pretend. You don’t need to, you never have, you know that. We haven’t been apart long enough for me to suddenly stop seeing straight through you. Don’t cut me out...”

Hinata froze up. Oh, he’d gone and done it now. Making Yachi mad or emotional (in a bad way) was always number one on his “shit NOT to do” list, and it was a pretty long ass list. He’d only ever done it a few times in all the years he’d known her but it always felt like one time too many. Now, he had to add making her close to angry tears in the back of a coffee shop to the list.

“Why do we always end up having too deep conversations in inappropriate places?” Hinata laughed, somewhat sadly but at least it was genuine.

“Because you like to keep your shit bottled up and can’t take it when the slightest thing makes you emotional. Hence, the emotional conversations in odd places.” she replied bluntly.

“Ouch.”

“Sorry... that was harsh... It _is_ the truth though.” she apologized with a huff, the bite gone from her voice, “And you never want anyone to help you with it. Try as they may.”

Hinata tried to find an excuse but grimaced when he came up short. “Sorry, it’s just my-”

“Your problem, I know.” Yachi sighed, “I’ve heard that a million times. I won’t pry if you really don’t feel up to talking about it. Just,” she leaned forward and took his hand, squeezing it, “please don’t think it’s your fault. It really isn’t. Your sister’s doing fine, her grades are good, I’m helping her with her studies when I can and we talk often. Your mom is healthy and still going on those morning walks. Besides the occasional fight, Natsu tells me things are normal. You’re fine, Hinata. Please don’t feel guilty.”

Yachi had always seen right through his bullshit, one of the perks of growing up with him he guessed, and while he wasn’t always happy about it, he appreciated it. It was frustrating to be called out, to have your issues laid out on the table so clearly, but she never took advantage of it. She never pried or pushed him to disclose more than he wanted. Yachi let him take his time and she deserved better than him trying to shut her out, but it was hard. Really fucking hard.

When Hinata started to feel tears pricking at his eyes he got up from his seat. “Okay, time to get the hell out of here before this turns into a hot mess.”

Yachi didn’t question him as she followed suit, “You’re already a hot mess, Hinata. Then again so am I, so I guess I can’t judge.”

Hinata put an arm around her shoulder and she returned the gesture by wrapping her own around his torso. They walked out just like that, friends who knew almost everything about each other but respected the other’s privacy. Hinata’s mom had always said she was good for him. It’d held a different meaning when she thought her son was straight, and when she knew otherwise she stood by what she said, just, in a different way. He agreed.

“Thank you, Yachan.” he said simply as they made their way down the street.

“It’s never a problem, Hinata.”

* * *

 

About thirty minutes passed one in the afternoon, Kageyama found himself sitting inside a hole in the wall diner with Yamaguchi, Tsukishima and plans to see a movie afterward. One of the two, he was happy to call his friend, the latter... not so much. Especially not after the stunt he pulled that morning. Bastard _knew_ he liked his sleep and Kageyama wasn’t at all ashamed of his shit eating grin when he’d shown up and Yamaguchi made Tsukki expose the blooming bruise on his shin.

Kageyama was sure that Tsukishima would find a way to make him pay for it but he enjoyed his the victory for the time being.

When the food arrived, Kageyama inhaled his burger, saving his fries for last like he always did. Yamaguchi commented on it once and Kageyama had explained it as the fries being a “wind down period” from the burger. No matter how hard he tried, every time he ate a burger it was gone in a flash. The fries on the other hand, for some reason, he could take his time with. Tsukki called him a “weirdo” for it, back in middle school when their vocabularies were a little more innocent, and Yamaguchi had snickered along with Tsukki but treated it like a legitimate method of eating.

“Your fries are still last.” Yamaguchi laughed, still in the middle of eating his own burger.

“Naturally.” Kageyama mumbled through a full mouth.

“Still weird.”

“Shut the fuck up.” he retorted, giving the offender a glare, “I’ve done it for years now I don’t think it’s gonna change.”

“Who the fuck saves an entire side for last? All I’m saying is it makes more sense to eat it all together.”

“Did I ask?”

“No, but your odd eating habits are begging for correction.”

“Tsukki, you still lick your pudding cups clean.” Yamaguchi gave him a look, “I don’t think you have room to talk.”

“You lick your shitty pudding cups? How _weird_.”

“Shut your fuc-”

“Okay, as much as I admire how you two can turn literally _everything_ into an argument,” he sipped on his shake, “let’s tone the swearing down a notch. That couple is two seconds away from covering their children’s ears. ”

Curious, Kageyama turned to get a look at the people in question and was met with the sight of a family of four two booths away. The dad made an abrupt turn when Kageyama made eye contact and went back to minding his family. The kids were rowdy and unnecessarily loud but the couple looked surprisingly unphased. In fact, they looked happy. The kids were smiling, the couple, apparently satisfied they stopped swearing, looked hjappy as well...

He looked their way a little longer but quickly turned around when a tightness started forming in his chest. It was that familiar burning sensation. Immediately, he regretted looking their way at all. He felt stupid as fuck for it and a bit of a stereotype, but happy families made him bitter. Kageyama didn’t hold any resentment toward them personally but fuck if he didn’t start feeling like a bitter asshole every damn time.

It was stupid.

Without another word he went back to eating his fries. Yamaguchi and Tsukishima led the conversation from then on. He chimed in here and there but couldn’t think of anything interesting to add. It never ceased to amaze him how quickly his mood could turn. He felt shitty.

When everyone finished their outrageously unhealthy meals, Kageyama and Tsukishima went to wait outside while Yamaguchi ordered another shake. It was his “I do what I want" week.

“Why’d you turn into an emo poster child in the middle of eating?” Tsukishima asked, waiting until they were alone outside.

Kageyama rolled his eyes but didn’t say anything.

“Wow.” he smirked, “Did you find someone to give you lessons? That was the perfect example.”

Kageyama still said nothing.

Tsukki’s smirk fell as he realized that, okay, something was actually wrong and Kageyama wasn’t just being his broody self. Shit.

Despite the way he acted, he didn’t _actually_ dislike  Kageyama. Sure they were assholes to each other, but he didn’t want him to _die_ or anything. So seeing him actually upset over something was always a little… concerning. Not that he’d ever disclose as much.

He was about to go with the basic "what's wrong?" when he remembered earlier that morning, after he’d gotten kicked in the shin, Yamaguchi mentioned Kageyama had gotten a call from his mother.

Tsukishima grit his teeth.

The topic of Kageyama’s mom was considered off the table, between the three of them. They knew what she was like, they knew how he’d grown up, and they knew he didn’t want to talk about it. Period. Every time they tried, they as in Yamaguchi because Tsukki had no idea how to handle that kind of thing tactfully, Kageyama shut them down. It wasn’t messy or emotional. It was like he erected a huge fucking steel wall, barring off the topic and anything surrounding it.  

It never seemed like a big deal until it _was_  but Tsukishima tried not to think anything of it because what was the point? Kageyama clearly didn’t want to talk about any of it, so that was that. Yamaguchi had once told him that was a terrible way of looking at it but he didn’t see how pushing Kageyama to talk was any better.

But today he figured he may as well try it Yamaguchi’s way. Just the once.

“I heard you got a call from your mom.” he tried, testing the waters.

Kageyama stiffened but still said nothing.

“Yamaguchi said you were off this morning.” Damn he was shit at this. “Is she still-”

“Don’t.”

Tsukishima sighed and pushed up his glasses, he was already getting frustrated. “Is she why you’re acting like a broody prick right now?”

“ _Drop_ it.”

"You can't keep-"

"Back _off_."

“Give me a good reason to.”

“Because it’s none of your goddamn business.”

Tsukishima fixed him with a glare, “Nine years and it’s _still_ “none of my goddamn business”. Right. You feed Tadashi that bullshit too?”

Kageyama didn’t have a response to that. That, the use of Yamaguchi’s first name, or the expression on Tsukishima’s face. He _actually_ looked upset.

_What the fuck...?_

It was _his_ problem. He shouldn’t feel guilty for not wanting to talk about _his_ fucking problems. They were stupid. They didn’t mean anything. It was his issue to deal with and it would pass, like it usually did. He didn’t need to start a shitty pity party for himself. He didn’t want their sympathies. They knew enough, they got the gist of it. They just needed to let him deal with it himself. It’d been this way since he met them.

So why the fuck was he _just now_ starting to feeling guilty for not sharing his problems?

Before he could even think of something to reply, Yamaguchi exited the diner, shake in hand. “Okay, that took longer than expected,” he said sheepishly, “Sorry for making you guys… Oh no.” his eyes narrowed at the two in front of him, “What happened? Why do you two look like that?”

“Nothing happened, unfortunately.” Tsukishima grumbled but kept his face neutral.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Ask him.” he shouldered the question onto Kageyama and started walking off. They were gonna miss the movie.

With Tsukki moving on, Yamaguchi turned to Kageyama for an answer. He just shrugged. Even if he wanted to explain, he wouldn’t know how.

“You guys are such drama queens I swear.” Yamaguchi muttered and went to join Tsukishima, motioning for him to follow. “So, I hear this movie got pretty good reviews.”

Kageyama zoned out of the conversation again as they walked down the street. It’s not like he didn’t share his issues because he didn’t _trust_ them. Was that what made Tsukishima mad? Because he did. He just didn’t feel like it was necessary. They didn’t need his shitty problems bringing them down. Was that selfish of him?  Apparently so, with the way Tsukishima was acting.

Why did they even want to know so badly? What would they get out of it? Why was he even still mulling it over? Why did confiding suddenly seem like an _option_? Ugh, he didn’t want to think. He didn’t want to think about this. There had to be a way to fucking shut that part of his brain off. It was confusing. He didn’t do well with confusion.

It was like suddenly being thrown into the ocean, and his stupid ass never learned how to swim.

Confusion was out to drown him.

Just as he felt himself about to slip, just as he was beginning to form an excuse to get out of the movie and lock himself in his apartment, he heard his name being shouted from across the street. His head snapped up, eyes wide- startled almost, searching for the familiar voice and the sudden sight of his favorite shade of orange rooted him back into reality. He wasn’t flailing in the ocean, he was on a dirty city street and Hinata was running toward him. 

For a split second he thought he might've been hallucinating. 

“Kageyama!” Hinata skidded to a stop beside him, looking happy to see his neighbor.

Ahead of them, Yamaguchi and Tsukishima halted, surprise coloring their faces. Well, Yamaguchi’s at least. Tsukki’s face was more of a slight interest.

Ironically, Kageyama was feeling like a fish out of water. He was just abruptly pulled back from the brink of whatever the fuck he was feeling, and now he felt at a complete loss for words.

“Uh, what…”

“What am I doing around here?” Hinata gathered for him, “I just dropped my friend off at the station." he pointed back the way he came, "She’s from back home. Haven't seen her in a while so she came to visit. She had to head back a little early though, her shitty professor sprang a surprise last minute assignment on them. What about you? What are you up to? That ramen last night didn’t mess you up did it?” Hinata playfully hit Kageyama’s stomach and Yamaguchi’s eyes practically double in size.

At the physical contact Kageyama got more of a hold on himself, “I didn’t even eat the spicy ramen, dumbass. I told you that stuff is fucking poison.”

Hinata frowned, “Always with the “dumbass”. And it’s not poison, your weak body just can’t handle it.”

In contrast to Hinata, Kageyama grinned, somewhat evilly, “Says the guy who couldn’t even finish his bowl because it was “satan hatching his hell spawn eggs in his mouth”.”

Hinata hit him again, not so playfully this time, “I told you to forget I ever said that! At least I wasn’t stuck on the toilet all day af-”

Kageyama didn’t let him finish before he got him into a headlock, his ears warming at the almost slip of that _particular_ information. The struggle went on for about five seconds when Yamaguchi suddenly cleared his throat. Kageyama froze and Hinata took advantage of his loosened hold, getting free and pinching Kageyama’s arm just cause.

“Ow!” Kageyama whirled on Hinata again, rubbing his forearm.

“That’s what you get for-”

Yamaguchi cleared his throat again, his face _highly_ amused.

_Shit…_ Kageyama thought and turned to face the pair in front of them.

Hinata perked up and followed Kageyama’s line of sight, spotting the two… _really fucking_ tall people just ahead of them, “Are those your friends?” he whispered as he slid next to Kageyama.

“Uh, yeah.” he replied dumbly.

“They’re fucking tall…”

“We can hear you, moron.” Tsukishima pointed out and Hinata narrowed his eyes at the insult.

“Hey, be nice you ass.” Yamaguchi chided. Kageyama clearly liked this guy, he thought, or he would’ve told him to fuck off from the get go. And any friend of Kageyama's was a friend of his. “Yamaguchi Tadashi, Tsukishima Kei.” he pointed at himself and then to Tsukki.

Hinata was still giving Tsukishima the stink eye but he paused to address the nice one, “Hinata Shouyou.”

“How do you know Kageyama?” Yamaguchi tried, wanting to mend Tsukki’s funny, but still rude, insult.

“We’re neighbors.” Hinata replied, a little more upbeat now that the extra tall one was quiet, “I met him when he was about to fight this cat over his di-”

“You finish that and I swear-”

“You were fighting a cat?” Tsukki snickered.

“Shut up it was a stupid cat and-”

“Don’t _insult_ Mittens.”

“You fought a cat named _Mittens_?” Tsukki was beginning to enjoy this conversation.

“Don’t insult the name either!” Hinata shot him a glare.

“While I really want to hear that story,” Yamaguchi grinned at Kageyama who was growing uncharacteristically uncomfortable, in a not-so-bad way, “we’re gonna miss that movie if we don’t get going. We already paid for the tickets too.”

“Right. The movie.” Kageyama, having previously wanted to get out of it, now found himself desperate for an escape from this conversation.

“No way, you guys are going too?” Hinata looked up at him. “I was supposed to go with my friend but y’know.”

“Feel free to join us. The more the merrier.” Yamaguchi offered, he really wanted to see what the deal was with those two.

“Uh…” Hinata looked up at him again, as if for permission, and responded when Kageyama lamely shrugged, “Sounds cool. I was kinds bummed having to go by myself.” He cracked a warm grin and Kageyama fidgeted.

Tsukishima, from the few minutes he’d heard and seen this Hinata talk, now understood what Kageyama meant when he said the sun came out his ass. In parallel with how utterly expressive the guy was, even his hair was outrageously bright. He shortly considered whether it was natural or not but lost interest when he decided it held no consequence. Normally, he would be bothered by a stranger suddenly included in their plans but he’d been curious about this neighbor of Kageyama’s.

Tsukki spared the guy a glance. Just a few minutes ago he could practically feel the uneasiness radiating off of him. Now, he looked more or less normal. He still had that resting bitch face but that was normal, at least.

While their conversation from earlier was far from over, he would let it slide. For now.

Kageyama saw Tsukki sigh from his spot next to Yamaguchi as he and Hinata exchanged excitement over the movie they were going to see. He narrowed his eyes at him but when the man started looking through his phone, looking his usual uninterested, he let it go. The conversation they had outside the diner was hardly forgotten but he felt more stable now. He could push it back and deal with it when it was appropriate.

For now, he walked the street with company.

“Why didn’t you tell me you hang out with _giants_ …” Hinata whispered to him, motioning at the pair ahead of them.

“They’re just as tall as I am.” he replied. “What’s so shocking?” Kageyama was just as tall as Tsukishima, maybe an inch shorter, and he was six foot five. Yamaguchi had a few inches less than the both of them, but he was still pretty tall, he guessed.

“Do tall people flock together or something?” Hinata wondered aloud, “Instinct? Is it an intimidation tactic?”

“If it were would you still be here?”

“I’m not easily intimidated.” he bristled. At least, wasn’t _anymore_ but he didn’t need to divulge that. “How tall are you anyway?” He raised his hand to the top of Kageyama’s head, “Six something right?”

Swatting his hand away he answered, “Six’four. I think.” It’d been awhile since he last measured himself so he couldn’t be sure.

“ _Damn_. What the hell? How is that fair?” Hinata sighed. His own height had peaked at five feet and seven inches.

He shrugged. “Genetics.”

“Are bullshit.” Hinata added. “I mean, I can’t even reach into the damn washers at the complex without physically getting _inside_ of them.”

Kageyama couldn’t hold back a laugh at that. The mental image it painted was too much.

“Don’t-” Hinata shoved him, “laugh at my struggle, you asshole.”

“Okay, to be fair those washers _are_ ridiculously old and big. I doubt it’s just you with that problem.” Kageyama acknowledged , grinning with his laughter, and the sight did a certain _something_ to Hinata’s chest.

Kageyama smiling or laughing wasn’t something that _never_ happened, it was just rare. Hinata had never met someone who didn’t smile as much as Kageyama... and _everyone_ smiled. Like, wasn't it a subconscious thing? So when it _did_ happen, it caught him off guard. It was... nice. Really nice. His eyes formed small crescents and his nose did a scrunchy thing that reminded him of a cute bunny.

Hinata stopped short at that… He was comparing a _six foot four_ Kageyama to a _bunny_. 

_Haha... this isn't good..._

Hinata eyed Kageyama again... who was _still_ grinning... _Oh what the hell_ , and before he could think better of it, he commented, rather bluntly, “You should smile more often.”

Panicking, Kageyama’s hand flew up to his mouth as he looked back down at Hinata, who was apparently looking at something _very_ interesting ahead of him. _What the fuck._ He hadn’t even realized he’d been smiling. On reflex he stretched his mouth out underneath his hand, trying to get it to go back to normal.

_I should smile more…??_

Haha, no. He’d always been told his smile was scary as fuck. He had a face like his dad’s, from what his mom told him and looking outside the fact that he didn’t have any good memories of the man, he remembers his face being intimidating, trying and not. To prove this fact, he’d tried smiling at a kid who'd gotten separated from her parents, trying to comfort her, and her reaction still made his chest tighten with guilt.

Hinata looked up at him again and saw his smile had gone. His brows furrowed the slightest bit before he put two fingers to the corners of his mouth and pushed them up.

_S_ _mile_.

Kageyama fought the urge to pull him into another headlock when Yamaguchi called over to Hinata, wanting to talk about the movie again and breaking their eye contact as a result.

He released a breath he didn't know he was holding when Hianta's slightly overwhelming gaze left him. Already, he was mentally exhausted and the afternoon was only starting.

_“You should smile more often.”_ Hinata’s words replayed in his head as they continued down the street.

_Why?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry if the chapter seems a little uneventful but i'm rly trying to flesh everything out. all the characters and relationships and the different dynamics between everyone~ I'm still not one hundred percent sure on what pairings are gonna happen but you got a little hint of daisuga starting in this chapter :') there will def be more i just gotta decide.
> 
> i'll be explaining the deal with kageyama and hinata's pasts soon i promise. i'm not sure if i wanna do a flash back chapter, or have them explain in the present hmmm.. either way, i apologize in advance lmao. there's gonna be a lot of personal growth going on in this fic. i love good character development. also i might be going and revising the first two chapters a little ?? bc wow there's no hint of ANY of this in those. 
> 
> anyway, thank u for reading and i rly hope u enjoyed :') i'll try to be a little faster in updating~


	6. Old Homes

Kageyama woke up the next morning in a terrible mood… Not because the day before had been bad, it had actually gone pretty well despite the emotional bits he shoved to the back of his mind, but because he knew today would be a completely different story. It was the first Tuesday of the month and that meant he had to go see his mom.

He’d rather swallow a fucking fork than go see her.

It was unavoidable. Either he went to see her or she’d show up announced and pissed off her ass at his door and he couldn’t let that happen, unfortunately. The landlady didn’t deserve the commotion that would cause. Though truthfully, he never knew what to expect with his mom. Sometimes when he would see her she was calm, spaced out even. Other times she was drunk and angry or high and those were the times he tried to avoid her most. Whatever the case, he didn’t want to find out her next mood at his home.

One thing that lifted his spirits the smallest bit was an annoying good morning text from Hinata. (Who had for some reason really wanted his phone number. He gave it to him when he asked the second time.)

 **Hinata** :

 _morning~!! i had a dream that huge ass lizard from the movie yesterday ate me while i was trying to open this can of coke that wouldn’t open no matter how hard i pulled…_ _and i was pulling pretty hard… O_O i think it’s a sign im staying away from can cokes…_

 

Kageyama had stifled a laugh when he read it. It was stupid but the mental image it painted was funny enough to lift his mood a little.

He replied and snickered to himself when he left his apartment.

 

 **Me** :

_Don’t. I want to see you get eaten by a giant lizard._

 

Kageyama shoved his phone into his pants pocket when he was done with it. He still had to go see his mother and he was still dreading it, but for the time being he allowed himself no worries and waited to see Hinata’s offended reply.

First stop was the bank.

* * *

Hinata chewed on his pencil. It was a bad habit and he knew it but he couldn’t stop. Every single one of his writing utensils suffered his teeth until the ends were gnawed to hell and back. It was a sort of nervous habit, he chewed them as he thought and right now, he was thinking. Thinking about what the hell he was going to do about his stupid bike.

He needed to get it back. That was definite. It would be his mode of transport to and from work and fuck if he was gonna walk the entire way there and back. The bus was also a no go. He didn’t want to be paying when there was already a better alternative for him. The problem was that his bike was at home and home was where his dad was.

Hinata sighed and sat back in his chair, taking the pencil out of his mouth and placing it back on his desk.

He _could_ just go when he knew his dad wouldn’t be home. The man worked most of the day so if he left early in the morning, got there just after he left, he could grab his bike, spend a little time with his mom and sister, if she was there, and be outta there before evening.

It could work. It was a pretty solid plan but…

Hinata was still scared.

The day he left hadn’t done anything for the anxiety he had built up around his dad. There had been yelling, nothing physical though who knows what would’ve happened if he’d pushed things…

Hinata’s dad was traditional in every definition of the word. Traditional business, traditional housing, traditional religious beliefs, traditional marriage… and Hinata had turned out the complete opposite.

At first, his father was disappointed. That was all it was. It was like he didn’t have the time or energy to get angry about how his son was “turning out”. When his grades weren’t the best they “could be” or when he was more interested in his plants than learning the logistics of his father’s business, he’d tolerated him. Then, his high school years came around and he was exposed to so much more. A lot of things had begun to make more sense to him.

With the freedom of his teenage years, Hinata found that his dad had been trying to groom him into a miniature him from the moment he was born and that hadn’t settled well with him. At all. In fact, that realization had him contemplating running away from home, but he never would’ve gone through with it.

Another thing his teenage years gave him, was clarity.

Clarity that soon followed up with panic attacks.

When he’d gone to a party with his friends, when he’d been shoved into a closet with another girl because the spin of an empty wine bottle said so and he wished it’d been that cute boy he saw earlier instead, that clarity hit him like a ton of bricks.

He almost threw up in that coat closet that day. The girl had been kind to him and hadn’t forced him to do anything. She could tell he wasn’t feeling well so she left him alone, asking if he was okay when he went a little too silent. He managed to get through the five minutes and the pale look of his face when they came out was mistaken for him being too _shy_ about the whole thing.

He excused himself after that and Yachi had followed him into one of the many rooms the house held.. Of course she knew something was wrong.

When he collapsed onto a bed and started crying, Yachi didn’t say a thing. She sat with him and rubbed his back until he was ready to speak and when he finally did, she smiled at him.

“It’s ok.” she said.

Hinata wanted to believe her but fifteen year old him couldn’t stop thinking about how his family would react. His dad, especially.

Yachi took him home after that, telling Kenma, Kuroo, and everyone else that he wasn’t feeling well. That he had a cold, most likely. Kenma had known it was a lie but he didn’t say anything. He was told the truth the next day anyway.

Once Hinata got over the initial shock and all the other fucking emotions that come barreling into your life, completely unwanted he might add, he calmed down. He was still afraid of what it might mean for him and his family, but he to came terms that it was something completely out of his control. He tried to change, in a last ditch effort, but it just wouldn't work. Soon enough, he was okay with it. It just became a part of him. To say he wasn't still scared would be a lie but it was who he was and he was done trying to change that.

After this, he started branching out from what his dad wanted more and more. He felt more himself than he ever had. He was feeling like an _individual_ and his father’s plans had no room in what he was making for himself. Not so coincidentally, that was when things started going to shit.

The two of them started disagreeing more and more often and Hinata only grew even more opinionated.

When his senior year rolled around he started playing with the idea of moving out. Moving into the city instead of being on the outskirts, and going to school there. It quickly became a dream of his. A goal. Move out, live on his terms, date a guy if he wanted, casual hook ups if he wanted, whatever he wanted without his parents having to know and whatever them knowing would entail… Soon enough he was pining for it.

He proposed the idea to his parents and his father agreed immediately. For some reason, it stung. It was what he wanted but it  _stung_. His mother wanted to have a conversation about it, talk about what it would mean, talk about how she would miss him. His dad… his… wholehearted agreement, the bit of relief, about it all was the only thing he took away from it.

When the time came for him to leave… the tension the two had was thick in the air. When his mother started crying, because she _of course_ would miss her son, and his father told her it was unsightly, the string snapped and Hinata went off.

Sometimes he wished he hadn’t. If only for the sake of his mom.

So, yes, Hinata was afraid of going home and running into the man. He knew he’d have to see him some time. They’d be brought together again eventually but he wanted to be in complete control when they did.

He didn’t want to be scared.

“Damn it _…_ ” Hinata got up and threw himself onto his bed, “all this over a bike.”

He thumbed the edge of his pillow for a solid minute, forcing his mind to go blank when he heard a notification pop up on his phone. Interest piqued, he got up, took his phone off the charger and checked what it was.

Kageyama replied to him.

He tried not to grin too hard.

It’d been much, _much_ , easier than he thought it'd be to get the guy’s number. He thought for sure he’d have to annoy him into giving it but he only had to ask twice… At first he thought it was a fake number so he quickly sent it a text and had to suppress a giggle when he saw Kageyama reach for his phone.

He’d gotten a elbow in the shoulder but it was worth it.

Hinata unlocked it to read the text and laughed at himself. He should’ve seen this kind of reply coming. Hinata considered himself a fun and zesty texter. He liked to be animated. Kageyama, it seemed, had no interest in that.

Hinata laughed again. That was fine. It suited him, he guessed. Kageyama using an emoji might’ve been the end of the world.

While he _should_ be slightly offended that Kageyama wanted to see him get eaten by a giant lizard, he was too preoccupied with the fact that he actually got a reply.

He was failing at not grinning too hard.

Hinata shot him a quick reply, conveying the fake offense and locked his phone again. He really needed to figure this bike thing out…

For instance, how the fuck was he gonna get it back to the apartment…?

* * *

Suga liked to sketch on his days off. He only got two and he filled them with drawing any little thing. His multiple coffee cups, his plants he’d taken home from the shop, his cute cat that threatened to spill said coffee cups all the time… It was a way for him to relax and not think. His mind would go blissfully blank as he focused.

But today he was drawing Daichi and his mind was everything but blank and peaceful.

“How long do I have to sit like this?” Daichi asked as he shifted on Suga’s couch. He’d been still for about ten minutes.

“I told you you don’t have to get all stiff.” Suga retorted from his spot a few feet away, “Just be natural, do whatever. I don’t need you to be a mannequin.”

“But I feel like if I move it’ll mess up… _whatever_ it is that you’re doing.” Daichi frowned and Suga bit back a laugh. It was cute that he cared but honestly he didn’t need him to sit so ramrod straight.

“It’s fine, it’s fine.” Suga waved his hand, “Believe me. Now just sit back or lay down- wait no don’t lay down. Just- relax, okay? Don’t give yourself a backache or anything. I’ll just be a few more minutes.”

Daichi nodded, eyeing Suga to see if it was really alright, and sat back on the couch. It was definitely more comfortable physically but he still felt like he was messing up Suga’s sketch. Didn’t people have to stay in the same position? Or something? And the lighting would be different if he moved, right?

“ _Daichi_ .” Suga interrupted his thoughts, “Your frown lines are what’s gonna ruin this if you don’t stop thinking. _Relax_. It’s just a quick sketch.”

“Okay, okay.”

Daichi settled for leaning back and closing his eyes. It was a nice compromise. He was relaxed but didn’t feel tempted to move.

Five minutes later Suga shut his book and clapped, signaling he was finished. Daichi opened his eyes and saw the man downing the last of his coffee. He drank way too much of it in his opinion. It was rare that you ever saw him without a cup. He never said anything about it though. You try to come between Suga and his coffee you’d be in for it.

“Do I get to see it?” Daichi asked and sat back upright, grabbing his water to take a sip.

“Only if you want to see what caffeine fueled pencil strokes look like.” Suga laughed. It was an indirect no. He was still too anxious to let anyone see his doodles and sketches. Even if it was Daichi asking.

“Fine, fine.” he knew not to push so he asked instead, “Wanna get out of here? It’s about that time for lunch.”

That was why he had stopped by Suga’s in the first place. How he got roped into sitting for a sketch was beyond him. It’d happened too many times to count, he didn’t question it. Even if he had every intention of saying he didn’t really feel like it, all it took was one “please” and he was sitting wherever Suga pointed him to.

He didn’t mind it really, but he was _starving_.

Suga contemplated his offer for a moment and replied, “Sure. You know, there’s this barbecue place down the street I’ve been wanting to try out.”

Daichi let him go on about reviews and how delicious the food was said to be while he shrugged his jacket on. He was just glad he agreed to go with him.

Nowadays, things were a mixed bag when it came to them. He didn’t know when it happened. Maybe he had been to forward somewhere? Too blunt? Sometimes Suga would refuse him with a polite smile, saying he had things to take care of. Daichi knew that on some occasions it was a lie, but he didn’t question him. Suga must’ve had his reasons. Most importantly, he didn’t want to push past a point that would scare his friend off for good...

Daichi could say without a shadow of a doubt that he loved Sugawara. He had for years.

They’d been friends since high school, freshman year. They met on their first day outside in the parking lot. Both of them had missed their bus and fate would have it that they lived in the same apartment complex. They’d walked home together, got some food, parted ways, and _coincidentally_ met up with each other the next morning. Except not really. Daichi had one-hundred percent waited outside the building for Suga to leave so that they could walk together again.

He’d been late because Suga wanted to get a coffee on they way but it was worth it.

Love came after. About a year after, to be exact.

Suga had come into the library while he was studying. He hadn’t noticed him yet so Daichi let his eyes follow. The teen had gone over to the fiction category, looking for a new book to pass the time with and when a smile spread on his lips as he looked over a summary and Daichi’s heart sped up at the sight, he knew he was fucked.

He’d booked it out of the library, not noticing Suga had seen him running. He gave himself two weeks without the other to think about it. It crushed him at first because even if he did like him, Suga wasn’t gay. He wasn’t and nothing would ever come of it. He’d just hurt himself trying.

Daichi had wanted to break all ties with his best friend but when the two weeks of avoiding him were up and he finally returned one of Suga’s million texts, the teen had showed up at his apartment with anger fueled tears.

It was safe to say that night changed his outlook. He never fully explained _why_ he started avoiding him, for obvious reasons, he just apologized over and over when Suga gave up his anger and hugged him. He promised to never do it again and that was good enough for the both of them.

From then on he came to an understanding with his feelings for his best friend. He wouldn’t hide how he felt, but he wouldn’t say anything outright. He’d let his friend know without words. Words weren’t something you could take back so he was careful.

Over time though, Suga started confusing him. His small touches that he _thought_ went unnoticed were being reciprocated. His low-key flirtatious remarks, glances that lasted a little too long, hugs that lasted a _little too_ long… It wasn’t his imagination and for the first time in over a year he thought maybe he had a chance.

Things went on from there, years of pining and tension, and just when he'd gotten confident enough to say something, Suga began pulling back. He didn’t know what happened. Maybe he’d been wrong? Maybe it _had_ been his imagination? Maybe he missed his window to tell him? Whatever the case, Suga felt the need to _avoid_ him on occasion.

Daichi wanted nothing more than to ask _why_ but whatever it was between them felt too fragile, too tight. One blunt word, one forward phrase, and he felt like the string would snap and break.

He didn’t know what the problem was but he’d be damned if he didn’t at least try to figure it out. If they were a possibility… he’d try and try. However long it took.

“Aaaand you’re not even listening.” Suga laughed and pulled Daichi out of his jumbled thought, “Typical. You’re always a little spacey when you’re hungry.”

When Daichi only scratched his head a little sheepishly Suga continued, “Okay come on big guy. Let’s go eat. You’re gonna love this place.”

* * *

Kageyama narrowed his eyes as he came upon his mother’s house. It was an old two story, the blue it was painted chipping but that had started years ago, and the chain fence surrounding it looked worse than the last time he’d seen it, and that had been a month ago... But more importantly, there was another car parked in the cracked driveway. A car he sure as _hell_ didn’t recognize…

The thought of her having another guy over sent chills down his spine but he walked up to the front door anyway. He just had to give her the envelope and be done with it. No more than three minutes, tops.

Kageyama pulled the screen door aside and was about to head in when the other door swung open. The man he now saw in front of him affirmed his thoughts earlier and Kageyama's mood worsened, if that were even possible. 

“What kid?” the man leaned against the doorway, a lit cigarette in his mouth, a nasty liquor smell in his air and the scene was _too_ familiar for Kageyama's liking, “You selling something? We’re not buying so you can fuck righ-”

“Move, asshole.” Kageyama sidestepped the man and entered the house. “Mom!” he called out. She was most likely upstairs.

“What the-" Asshole, Kageyama's impromptu name for this stranger, whipped around, "Who the fuck do you-!”

“I’m her son and I don’t want to be here so the the fuck up and let me get this over with.” Kageyama’s patience had evaporated the second he got a whiff of Asshole’s smoke. He fucking hated cigarettes.

The man, who Kageyama seemed to have gotten riled up, stormed over and tried to grab him by his jacket collar. Kageyama sidestepped him, again, and caught his wrist. It was yanked back immediately and instead of going for him again Asshole decided he wanted to yell.

“You think you can fucking come in here and start throwin’ around insults?! I don’t care if you are her punk ass of a son.” He began moving in closer, trying to intimidate him, but Kageyama didn’t move. He’d been through this a thousand times. “You call me an asshole one more time, you tell me to shut up _one more time_ and I swear-”

Kageyama was the one to move in close this time. His size gave him somewhat of an advantage and if this guy wanted a fight he was gonna get one. Common sense was screaming and telling him this was a _bad_ _idea_ but he didn't care. He grabbed the guy by the shirt and he just really didn’t fucking care. “I’d like to see you fucking try, asshole.”

That snapped whatever string was holding the stranger's composure together. He took a swing and Kageyama dipped, avoiding it and using the momentum to turn them around and throw the man against the wall. He had both hands on him now and was about to give him a knee in the dick when he heard his mother.

“TOBIO!”

Kageyama froze and the man took advantage of his pause by landing a solid fist on the right side of his face.

“Ah, **fuck** …! Take that you fucking son of a bitch!” he yelled and cradled his hand when Kageyama almost hit the floor. He staggered but kept his balance.

“YORI, ENOUGH!”

“Your fucking punkass kid started this shit!”

“Dammit you didn’t have to _punch_ him! He could sue your stupid ass! Or call the damn police! That’s the last thing I need happening around here!”

Kageyama could only barely hear them. His ear was ringing and the side of his face was hot and throbbing

“Shit look at him he’s fucking bleeding. Are you wearing that damn ring?”

He was bleeding? Kageyama brought a hand up to check and sure enough, he was.

Fuck... He just wanted out of there.

“It’s not my fault you didn’t raise your stupid ass son right. I told you- he started this shit.”

Kageyama left them to their arguing as he walked over to the kitchen. He grabbed a few paper towels, wet them, and wiped his face. It fucking stung but he wanted to stop the bleeding... as best he could anyway. He didn't know shit about cleaning cuts but too many people around there have seen him walk about with a bloody nose or a bruised eye. He didn’t want to give them yet another thing to talk about.

Ugh, he really should’ve remembered that before picking a fight.

“Well,” Kageyama’s mother leaned on the counter beside him, she was still dressed in her sleepwear, her hair was curled, and her makeup was still ever present on her face. She must’ve gone out last night. “There goes another one… Why do you always have to ruin this for me.” she sighed and grabbed herself a bottled water, “This one was even going well.”

“Like hell it was.” he spat, turning the faucet off and throwing his paper towel away. The bleeding hadn't stopped but it was good enough.

She shot him a look, “How would you know? I only see you once a month. You never come around. What the hell would you know?”

Kageyama was too used to her guilt trips to be affected by them.

“Because they’re all the same.” he said bluntly and reached into this jacket pocket to grab the envelope. “Here.” he placed it on the counter with a soft thud and started to walk off. “Don’t call me and tell me it’s not enough. It is.”

“That’s _it_?” she followed him, leaving the envelope behind, “No questions about how your mother’s doing? No concern? A few minutes and you’re gone?”'

"Concern?" he stopped and faced her, "I just got fucking decked by your bastard of a hook-up and you want to get on _me_ for concern?"

"Oh stop it. You're fine. You're walking and talking. I kicked him out anyway. But that's not good enough for you, is it? Don't give me that fucking look. You don't know what I- Oh, now you're just gonna walk away?!"

“Yup.”

Kageyama didn’t stop when she started yelling after him. He walked out of that house and didn’t plan on getting anywhere near it until next month. Like usual.

* * *

Hinata sucked on a popsicle as he walked home. Boredom had demanded he go outside, if only for a moment. He decided to go and get some popsicles at a convenience store across the street because why the hell not. They were the kind that came in plastic that you could freeze and unfreeze, freezer pops. Kageyama might appreciate one too so all the more reason to get them.

After he realized that going back home to get his bike was the only option, his day became uneventful. He worked out, read up on his soon to be college classes, hoped for a text from Suga and before he knew it, evening rolled around.

Hinata knew what he needed to do about the bike but didn’t know exactly _how_ he was going to do it… He would need a ride there and back. He didn’t trust the metro stations, those bike racks never looked safe enough to him and while he knew this was a fear that had no basis, he couldn’t bring himself to get over it. So, getting a ride it was.

Be it via taxi or whatever, he was getting his damn bike.

Hinata ran up the stairs to his level, humming to himself- trying to ignore his thoughts- and came upon the sight of Kageyama kneeling in between the space of their apartments.

_What’s he…? Oh._

Mittens came into view from in front of Kageyama, rubbing it’s head on the man’s knee. Kageyama’s hand followed her, stroking Mittens’ back as she circled around him. She meowed and Hinata heard the faintest hint of a laugh from the man.

“Hey! Kageyama!” Hinata blurted before he could let himself stare for too long, and Kageyama practically jumped at his voice.“Thanks for sayin’ you wanted to see me get eaten by a lizard earlier. That dream was actually pretty scary y’know?”

He stopped about three feet behind him but Kageyama still hadn’t turned around. “Uhh, something wrong? Embarrassed I caught you playing with Mittens?”

Hinata’s teasing mood quickly vanished when Kageyama sighed, long and dejected sounding, and decided to finally turn around.

“What the-?” Hinata’s eyes zeroed in on the cut and large angry red bruise that was blossoming on Kageyama’s cheek. “What the hell happened?”

Hinata dropped his bag and popsicle and moved closer, his hand automatically coming to Kageyama’s jaw to inspect his face. When he didn’t protest Hinata asked again, “What happened?”

“A fight, obviously.” Kageyama replied too plainly.

“Okay, I see that, but _why_?” Hinata dropped his hand and reached into the discarded bag, “Have you iced it yet?” he carefully placed a roll of popsicles onto Kageyama’s cheek, “I know it’s not much but make do with these for now. I can go back to the store and get a real ice pack…” Hinata looked at it again, “and a first aid kit… Shit. What cut you like that…? That looks pretty deep… and I think it’s still bleeding…”

Kageyama stood there wordlessly while Hinata inspected and fussed.

He had planned to go straight inside, avoid contact with anyone and everyone for a few hours, but when he saw Mittens rolling around outside his door that plan immediately failed. He knelt down, maybe today would be the day she let him pet her. He could only guess that she sensed his mood and took pity on him when she didn’t recoil from his hand.

Kageyama had never touched a cat before, if you could believe it. He hadn’t had many chances to.

They were softer than he expected.

“Okay, you go inside. Lay down. I’ll be back.” Hinata gave him the bag, “Take these with you, oh and leave your door unlocked so I can get in without making you get up. Just…” he shot him a worried look, “relax or something…”

Hinata bolted off and Kageyama did as he was told. He didn’t know why he was being so damn pliable. He didn’t know why he opened his door and brought the cat along with him. He didn’t know why he curled up on his bed and wanted to fucking cry. He didn’t know why the tears fell even when he _really_ didn’t want them to.

Kageyama just didn’t know.

Hinata burst into the convenience store across the street for the second time that day, though he was in much more of a rush now. He already felt like he’d been gone too long when he began grabbing things he placed on his mental list. He didn’t know what Kageyama had gotten up to, why his face looked like that, but he couldn’t leave it alone. Even if it was none of his business he couldn’t. Especially when it looked like he hadn’t even _treated_ that damn cut.  

Hinata placed an ice pack, a first aid kit, bandages, painkillers, and a pint of birthday cake icecream on the counter and didn’t have the patience to notice the judgy look the cashier was giving him. He paid and was out of there within five minutes.

When Kageyama had actually listened to him and left his door unlocked, his worry spiked. Because _what the hell?_ Kageyama? Listening to him? Something was definitely wrong. And he didn’t mean that in a rude way, Kageyama just generally didn’t listen.

He shut the door behind him, slipped his shoes off, and padded into Kageyama's apartment. First he went to the kitchen, putting the ice pack and ice cream in the freezer. He’d tell Kageyama about it later. All the lights had stayed off, he noticed as he moved further in, so he flipped the light switch in the small living room. It was quiet and no Kageyama was to be seen so Hinata assumed he went to his bedroom.

“Kageyama?” he called before he made it to the door, “It’s me. Not a stranger coming to rob you…” He didn’t hear an answer so he opened the door slowly. “I bought some stuff… that cut really needs to be cleaned…”

Hinata’s voice trailed off when he saw Kageyama curled up on his bed. He thought maybe he’d fallen asleep and he _really_ wished that had been the case.

He started to cross the room but stopped in his tracks when he heard the smallest sniffle.

Kageyama was crying.

_Oh fuck. Oh fuck, oh fuck._

“Kageyama…?”

“Yeah.” he tried to sound normal but his voice betrayed his intentions.

“Are you… um… do you want me to leave?” Hinata didn’t know how to proceed. “I can leave the stuff here… but you need to clean that cut…”

Kageyama didn’t respond at first, he just sat up after rubbing his eyes clear of tears. He took a few moments to try and compose himself, letting himself stare blankly at Mittens who was licking at her paw beside his bed.

“I don’t know shit about cleaning cuts.” Kageyama said finally and looked over at Hinata.

He regretted it.

Hinata looked so damn _sad…_

“The world’s not ending you know. Try not to look so upset.” Kageyama tried to joke. It didn’t work.

“What happened?” Hinata couldn’t help himself from asking again as he turned the light on and placed his bag and its contents on the bed. Kageyama watched as Hinata looked around until he spotted his bathroom, “You mind if I get a towel? I need to wash my hands too.”

He shook his head and Hinata disappeared and reemerged a minute later with a wet towel in hand. “This is huge.” he said absentmindedly as he came closer to Kageyama and raised said towel to his face. “It’s gonna sting.”

“I know.”

Hinata frowned at that but went to gently rubbing the dried blood off his cheek and rinsing the cut out. Kageyama winced but closed his eyes and let him work. He really shouldn’t be letting him do this but he was tired… and _stupidly_ emotional and Hinata’s hands felt too nice on his face.

“Did you even try to clean this?” Hinata reprimanded when he was finished.

“ _Yes._ ” he replied defensively, “I told you, I don’t know shit about cleaning cuts.”

“I can see that.” Hinata paused, “I’m no doctor and I don’t _think_ you’ll need stitches for this but… we could go to a clini-”

“No.”

“This really isn’t the time to be stubbor-”

“No clinics, no hospitals.”

“Kageyama.”

“Don’t make me say please.”

“You just did.”

“Whatever. Just… no hospitals.”

“Fine. You’re lucky I don’t think it’s a hundred percent necessary or your ass would be going to a clinic whether you liked it or not.” Hinata sighed, reaching for the antibiotic and bandages.

Kageyama winced and shut his eyes again as he felt the neosporin spread onto the cut. Once the initial pain was gone, the coolness of it brought some relief to the incessant throbbing he’d been feeling since he left his mom’s house.

Hinata, who was still eyeing him a bit warily, could tell if felt nice by the way he relaxed. When he was satisfied, he ripped the box open and placed the huge bandage (he made sure to get the big ones) over the cut.

“There. Nice and clean.” he stepped back and inspected his work.

The bruise was still huge and red but nothing much could be done for that except icing it. The cut, however, had ended up being less deep than he thought. Once he cleaned up the dried blood around it it was easier to tell exactly how bad it’d been. Thought the fact that it hadn’t been as bad as he feared didn’t bring him much comfort. Not when he knew _someone_ out there had actually done that to him.

Which brought him back to asking the question, “What happened?”

Kageyama sighed, keeping his eyes shut so he didn’t have to see that worried expression on Hinata again.

“I don’t wanna tell you.” he said lamely, though he knew Hinata wouldn’t just take that for an answer.

“Come on. I just sat here and cleaned your wound. I’ve officially _nursed_ you…” Hinata frowned when he kept his eyes shut, “At least tell me you’re not expecting another fight soon.”

“I never expect a fight.”

“Ugh, come _on_!” Hinata groaned, throwing himself on Kageyama’s bed.

When Kageyama felt the bed shift he finally reopened his eyes and saw Hinata sprawled on his sheets, looking miffed. “At least tell me the other guy got it worse or something.”

Kageyama turned when Hinata met his gaze, “Can’t.”

“Can’t as in the other guy didn’t get it worse or can’t as in “you don’t wanna tell me”?”

“...He didn’t get it worse.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah.”

The mood quieted. Hinata didn't look mad anymore.

“Was he taller than you?”

“No.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah… He packed a punch though.”

“Ha… Yeah, I can tell.”

“Had him scared at least.”

“Why didn’t he get it worse then?”

“...Got distracted.”

“Huh. I see…”

“ … “

“ … “

“It… uh, my mom… Got distracted by my mom.”

“Oh.”

“Her shitty boyfriend or whatever.”

“Oh _…_ ”

“I probably made it worse than it should’ve been…”

“You don’t have to-”

“I know. It’s… fine…”

“Okay.”

“He was smoking and smelled like a damn bar... He could’ve taken eighty showers and still reek of whiskey... I called him an asshole two seconds after I met him.”

Hinata laughed, small and short. “Not surprising.”

“I told him to shut the fuck up too but anyone would’ve done that.”

“Don’t doubt it.”

“He really was an asshole.”

“I believe you.”

“Acted like he owned the place… I just… I really hate cigarettes y’know.”

“Me too.”

“The smell sticks to you. Even if you’re not the one smoking. It’s fucking stupid. You can’t get it out.”

“Kageya-”

“And you get looks. People and kids think you’re the one who’s smoking even though you’re fucking _twelve years old_ and you think it’s the most disgusting habit in the world and you would rather get stung by a million goddamn bees than put that thing in between your teeth. And you _cough_ a lot. It gets in your chest and it hurts and you feel sick and that fucking guy was just standing there leaning against the damn door with a smoke in his mouth and a glass bottle in his hand and he looked like my goddamn d-”

Kageyama stopped his rant short with a ragged intake of breath when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He was fucking crying again.

“Shit.” He rubbed at his eyes with his sleeve, “Sorry, I’m fine. I’m…”

Hinata brought his arm around Kageyama’s shoulders, a little hesitantly. Physical comfort had always worked for him… It couldn’t hurt to try. He thought maybe Kageyama would just pull away, but when he practically sagged at the contact Hinata felt his chest tighten.

“You don’t have to be fine, you know…” he assured, “Just say whatever you want. I didn’t mean to stop you…”

“No, I’m- I didn’t…” he trailed off and sighed.

Hinata’s arm was heavy on his shoulders and it took him a second to realize that he was being _held_ … It helped, but didn’t. The contact made his chest swell and caused his voice to catch in his throat.  He was a damn mess…

They sat like for a minute. Hinata didn’t say anything and neither did Kageyama. He used the time to calm himself down. It worked, thankfully.

Hinata had about a million questions running through his head but he kept them to himself. Kageyama had already shared enough, and he knew that’d been a _lot_ for how private a person he was. Whether he meant to or not, Hinata was the tiniest bit glad Kageyama had confided in him at all, even if it didn't make much sense to him right now. So, he stayed silent and sat there with him as he worked his emotions out. He knew from experience that sometimes just being there, quiet, for someone was more appropriate than trying to make things better.

Once Kageyama got a stronger hold on himself, the arm around his shoulder became a little overwhelming and a _lot_ embarrassing. Trying his damn best to not make it awkward, he sank down onto his bed with closed eyes, lying on his back and letting Hinata’s hand fall to his side.  

The first thing out of his mouth after the silence was an apology. “Sorry. This was the last thing I wanted to happen today.”

Hinata shook his head, “ _Everyone_ cries, Kageyama. Don’t apologize.”

“Would it be weird if I asked you to forget this ever happened.”

“Not at all.”

“Will you?”

“Don’t think so. Sorry.”

Kageyama sighed. “Worth a shot.”

“I know it’s embarrassing, _believe me_ ,” Hinata laughed dryly, “but it’s okay. It’s not like I’m gonna try and use this against you or anything. I’m not an asshole. And by the way, I don’t think you’re one either.”

Kageyama opened his eyes at that, his face a question.

“I don’t.” Hinata reiterated when he saw Kageyama’s expression. “I mean, you do asshole _things_ sometimes. Like yesterday, when I ran into that wet floor sign trying to look at the new movie posters and you laughed.”

“It was funny. You jumped when it fell.”

“... _Anyway_ , my point is, you’re not a bad person. Not an asshole.”

Kageyama considered that for a second. “An uncommon opinion you have there.”

“How? Your friends don’t think it. They seemed to like you a lot. Even that mean one. And I’m sure _he’s_ not an asshole either. Probably just hiding behind that facade like you.”

“What makes you so sure it’s a facade?”

“Assholes don’t help their landlady with their groceries all the time. Or check up on them every other day. They also don’t grab lids and straws for everyone else when all of us forgot, or make sure we all go to the bathroom before the movie starts so we don’t have to get up in the middle of it.”

“What the hell?”

“I’m observant when I wanna be.”

“What was the point of this...?”

“You.” Hinata reached behind him and shoved on Kageyama’s chest, “Not being an unfeeling asshole. Not someone who has to apologize for _crying_ of all things. Okay?”

“ … “

“I’m expecting an answer.”

“ … “

“I’m gonna take that birthday cake ice cream back if you don’t agree with me.”

“The what?”

“I bought some ice cream and put it in your-”

“Okay.”

“...Wow.”

“Shut up.”

“All it took was ice cream.”

“Shut up I’m hungry.”

“If you’re hungry you gotta eat an actual meal.”

“You think I care about what I “should” be eating right now?”

“No, but I do so we’re getting food. I’ll pay.”

“...Fine.”

Hinata laughed and got up off the bed, squatting down to pet Mittens on the floor, “So you’re her new owner?”

Kageyama sat up, looking down at the two of them. The sight was... cute... “I guess. I picked her up and she didn’t struggle so… I just brought her inside.”

“How sweet.” Hinata half-cooed, gave Mittens one more rub and stood up.

“Ugh, don’t.”

“It is though.” he assured and started putting everything still left out the bed back into the plastic bag as Kageyama watched. “So what you do wanna eat? You probably don’t feel like going anywhere, huh? Oh, and I still have that ice pack freezing. Yeah, you’re staying here. I could go out and bring something back... Or we could get delivery? I’m kinda in the mood for pizza. Is pizza okay?” Hinata finished and looked up at Kageyama expectantly.

His expression was soft. Too soft and understanding and Kageyama didn’t know what was _happening_.

“Pizza’s fine.” he replied with an averted gaze. _Shit…_

Hinata smiled, “What kind?”

 _Shit shit…_ “The meats.”

“Nice! My favorite.” he added happily. “I’ll put this away first.” a pause, “Where can I put this towel?”

Kageyama suddenly got up and tried to take it from him, “I’ll take care of it. The bag too.” He needed an excuse to leave the room for a second.

“I got it. It’s fine.” Hinata protested but Kageyama insisted.

“You did a lot already.” he held his hand out, trying not to look him in the eyes, “I’ll take care of it. I have to take the laundry down anyway.”

Hinata narrowed his eyes, “You don’t do laundry until the weekend.”

“I changed my laundry schedule.”

“Bullshit.” Hinata laughed, “Do you know how many conversations we've had about how much you hate doing laundry?”

Kageyama groaned, _of course_ he had to make it difficult _now_ of all times. “Just let me take it.”

Hinata turned so the bag and towel were even further away from him, “I said, _I got it_. Just lay down. Oh,” he reached into the bag and grabbed the pain killers, placing them into Kageyama’s extended hand, “I forgot these. The instructions said take two.”

He paused at the pill bottle in his hand, looking at it then back at Hinata.

_How much did he spend on me…?_

“I’m buying dinner.” he said suddenly.

Hinata looked taken aback, “What? No way. I already said I’d pay for it.”

“You bought all this shit already. _I’m_ buying dinner.”

“No.” Hinata grabbed him by the shoulders and turned him around so that he was facing his bed, “Just _go… relax… Ugh_ ,” he tried pushing him but Kageyama stood firm in his spot, “Did you eat a few hundred pounds of cement or something?”

“Why are you being so fucking stubborn?” Kageyama pushed back when Hinata managed to move him a little.

“I could say the same to you!” he grumbled and started using his shoulder to push against Kageyama’s back, “Just let me take care of you! Ah- Fuck!”

Kageyama slammed face first into his bed when he stopped pushing back. Hinata’s words rendered him temporarily fucking _useless_ and he underestimated how hard the guy had been pushing.

“Oh shit, shit!” Hinata ran over and knelt down next to him, hearing a low groan emit from Kageyama, “I’m sorry! Damnit, does it hurt? Did I make it worse?”

He waited for a response but Kageyama only pulled back from the bed and gave him a long look. For a moment, Hinata was distracted by how damn _blue_ his eyes were but snapped out of it when he realized he was also staring.

“What?” he inched back a little. He hadn't realized how close they were.

Kageyama just kept looking at him, like he was considering something.

Hinata shoved his shoulder, “ _What_?”

“Nothing.” Kageyama replied and stood up, “I’m gonna take a nap. Let me know when the pizza’s here.”

“Wait… _huh?_ ” Hinata got up as well, eyes following Kageyama as he got onto his bed. “You’re not mad are you?”

“Nope. I’m tired.”

“You sure…?”

“Positive.”

“Okay… It doesn’t hurt? The fall didn’t make it worse?” Hinata asked, and grabbed the painkillers that had fallen onto the floor, placing them on the small dresser next to the bed. “You should really take these.”

“It doesn’t hurt, it’s fine.” Kageyama grabbed two tablets from the bottle and swallowed them dry.

“...So you’re really just gonna take a nap?”

Kageyama eyed him, “Isn’t that what you wanted?”

“Well.. yeah but...” Hinata started backing away, “Okay then… I’ll just go take care of this…”

He waited a few moments for a sudden protest but Kageyama stayed quiet. Weird.

Whatever. At least he was getting his way. Hinata didn’t know what kind of things Kageyama was dealing with but the least he could do was help him out. He wanted to take care of him, for at least today, and that was exactly what he was gonna do.

When Hinata finally left the room and Kageyama heard the door click shut, he waited some seconds before stuffing his face into his pillow and groaning.

“Fuck fuck fuck fuck _fuck…_ ” he muttered into the fabric.

 _“Just let me take care of you!”_ The words replayed in his head.

Kageyama wanted to shrink. Hide away in his covers and get rid of the warmth blossoming all over his face.

He hadn’t been two seconds away from _possibly, maybe wanting_ to hug Hinata.

He fucking hadn’t.

Kageyama _really didn’t_ want to take the short, too soft looking Hinata into his goddamn arms and squeeze him. He didn’t want to touch his stupid nice orange hair that was always wild and a little long. He didn’t want to touch his small hands or smooth out the worried look on his brow. And he _really_ , ** _really_** wasn’t at all curious to find out what his lips felt like.

Kageyama’s eyes blew wide open, shocked at himself. “Oh _fuck_ me.”

He didn’t let that train of thought continue. Instead, he pushed his head further into his pillow, willing sleep to take him.

…

He was fucked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a little bit of backstory for you, with a sprinkle of that daisuga.  
> also i apologize lol chapters like these i really think the title of this story is accurate 
> 
> thank you for the comments and kudos :') i hope you enjoyed


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